Just Another Game
by frekat
Summary: Getting hit by trains isn't fun. Trust me on this because I'm a one time expert on the subject...well, maybe you shouldn't trust me because I obviously died from the impact...how would you feel to know that you reincarnate into a video game where you can only control the body you occupy by levelling up stats? Life's not so fun now, huh? Well, things'll get better. Hopefully. (OCSI)
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING! THIS CHAPTER WILL PROBABLY BE EXTREMELY BORING BECAUSE IT IS AN INTRODUCTION TO WHAT TYPE OF STORY THIS WILL BE! IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES, FEEL FREE TO PM ME OR LEAVE A REVIEW STATING IT!**

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**The story is through 'Kanzaki's' POV, so any spelling mistakes or any words that don't exist are his thoughts/speech.**

* * *

**Reincarnation? Strange…**

When I felt a train impact with my body, I think I died instantly. I only saw black, and that's that. I had thought that I would be stuck like this forever, until reincarnation crossed my mind. I guess that the thought of reincarnation was the beginning of the tree that would eventually fall down. For the second time. Hopefully not by a train this time.

But feeling a sudden burning pain all over your body was not what you want when you want to be reincarnated. It actually felt like I was in the middle of the sun. The strangest thing about the burning pain was that it felt relaxing and calming.

And then I felt a pressure all over my being that didn't want to leave, no matter how many times I had asked it to. The one time I didn't want it to leave, it decided to suddenly leave.

All of these events were confusing me to hell, though, and the only logical explanation I could think of didn't make sense either. So it wasn't very logical.

Now, anyone would surely freak out when a white hole suddenly opened up, followed by the sounds of talking. My vision surely was blurry, though. A giant set of hands decided to pick me up and hand me to what I presumed to be my new mother. And then I cried.

I couldn't control my body, not until time froze and a black box with white text appeared in front of me.

_Achievement Unlocked: Reincarnation!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Merge with another soul!_

Wait, what? Merging with another soul? Is that why I can't control my body? I really wanted to sigh, but I couldn't. I'm also kinda angry about not getting a reward for unlocking an achievement.

_Level up! Current level: 3_

_Reward: 30 Stat points, 50 Soul Mergence points, 1 Merit point and 20 Base Modifier points awarded!_

Stat points? Merit points? Base modifier!? This all too much to handle. Maybe this is some sort of practical joke…I certainly don't see any HUD elements in my face. Yes, it must be a game prank of sorts. A really crappy game prank.

While my mind was racing with thoughts about how crappy this game was, I didn't notice that I had got another achievement.

_Achievement Unlocked: Realise the truth about your reincarnation!_

_Reward: Stats unlocked!_

And then a white screen popped up in front of me with what looked like a stat sheet.

_Issei Hyoudou's Stats_

_Speed: 1/1000_

_Strength: 1/1000_

_Intelligence: 1/1000_

_Wisdom: 1/1000_

_Agility: 1/1000_

_Charisma: 1/1000_

Seriously!? Starting from the beginning!? That sucks! And I'm this Issei Hyoudou now!?

_Soul Mergence_

_Body Control: 0/100000000_

_Spiritual Influence: 0/100000000_

_Thought Influence: 0/100000000_

_Physical Influence: 0/100000000_

I'm going to have a hard time with life now. I wonder what it means by base modifier? I once read that it has something to do with genetics, but I'm not so sure.

_Base Modifier Stats_

_Feminine Beauty: 1/10000_

_Feminine Physique: 1/1000_

_Lolita/Shotaro Body: 1/1000_

_Gender: 1/10000_

_Locked_

_Locked_

_Locked_

I can slowly change gender, I'm guessing…even though I was and am still a guy…oh my fucking god. Now I know my life goal. Bu~t! I can always look like a genuine girl instead! And there's a lot of locked options, which was strange. I appreciate the range of selections. And why is Feminine Physique and Lolita/Shotaro Body requiring less points than the other two?

And then I realised that there wasn't any more Base Modifier options that I could actually choose. Great. This is so awesome. Alright, I'll spend my points wisely, right after the Merit section appears.

_Merits_

_No Merits are available at the moment_

Cue cricket chirping…what are merits anyway? Are they special powers, perhaps? I guess I'll find out later.

_Add points?_

A screen prompt decided to make its presence known to me. Right in my face. I tapped a small yes icon under the prompt and plus and minus buttons appeared next to every option that I could actually select.

In what seemed like a long time to me, I finally decided what I should with my points. With Issei's stats, I decided to put 20 into Intelligence and 10 into Wisdom…what? I don't want to be a stupid baby!

I decided to put all of the Soul Mergence points into Body Control and all the Base Modifier points into Feminine Looks, making them effectively useless at the current moment. After I confirmed that I wanted my stat points to stay in the areas that they are placed in, time resumed again and my body continued to flail without me controlling it.

Sigh, this is going to take a while.

* * *

After one gruelling year of infancy, I finally learned how to crawl. I still didn't know how to control my body, and I never actually went to sleep. When the person that I assumed was Issei went to sleep, all I saw was darkness and a giant red dragon that seemed to be asleep.

And no matter how hard I tried, the dragon wouldn't wake up. I hadn't levelled up either, which sucked.

_Achievement Unlocked: Learn to crawl!_

_Award: Body Control Power!_

Seriously!? Can I control this stupid body now?

After several attempts of trying to control the body, it wouldn't work. That wasn't until the Merit section popped up in my face.

_Merits_

_Body Control Power: 0/1_

I only need one Merit point to do that? Sweet! Without a second thought, I dumped the Merit point into Body Control Power, and what happened next scared me slightly.

I moved my hand slightly and fell onto my face. It hurt a little, yes, and then I started to lose control of the body. And then I lost it entirely. Three seconds, huh? Even though I dumped fifty into what, zero out of one hundred million?

_Achievement Unlocked: Control Issei's body!_

_Award: 50 Spiritual Mergence points, 50 base modifier points and 1 Merit point!_

I'm not entirely sure that that mathematically adds up. Ah well, I'm sure something will happen soon enough. But I really want to spend that Merit point.

25 SM points (I've decided to call Soul Mergence that because it's way too long) into Thought Influence and the rest into Body Control. You should know by now what I did with the Base Modifier points (shortened to BM this time because I'm still lazy)

* * *

_Achievement Unlocked: Learn how to walk!_

_Award: 1000 EXP!_

_Level Up! Current Level: 4_

_Reward: 15 Stat points, 25 Soul Mergence points, 1 Merit and 10 Base Modifier points!_

I feel like this game wants me to look like a girl by the time high school starts. Maybe I should make that happen? I'm also too young to start walking, right?

To the points and stuffs. I added 10 Stat points into Intelligence and 5 into Wisdom because I still don't want to be stupid. I put 15 SM points into Thought Influence and the rest into Body Control. Geez, this is getting stupidly repetitive.

* * *

"Mama!" That was the first word I have ever heard since being stuck in this body. I'm surprised I haven't tried to commit suicide, but that may be because my Body Control limit is only thirty seconds at this current moment. And I think I'm about one year and a few months old.

_Achievement Unlocked: Say your first word!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Hear for the first time!_

_Reward: Ability to talk to Issei through the mind!_

Is that all I get? Seriously? No points or anything? I want to become better, god dammit!

'_Hey, kid, can you hear me?'_ I think that I should at least try to talk to the little chibi.

"Blub gah goo."

'…_Yeah…I'm just going to leave you alone now…'_

That was creepy, and I'm wondering why Issei's parents haven't been freaking out over him saying his first words. Maybe something's happened?

I somehow managed to half-crawl half-walk up the short flight of stairs and to where my new parents slept at night. The door was left half open for some strange reason as well…very strange in my book.

That was when I decided to take control of the body to toddle away to an area that little Issei wouldn't be able to get to. In other words, his room that would make me cringe if I ever had the chance to.

One of those stupid baby gate things was blocking my path, though, and I lost control as soon as that happened. I won't go into too much detail, but Issei ended up walking in on his parents doing it. Right when the climax of their evening happened…haha, puns…I should go die again…

Maybe I messed up this particular universe's timeline by making little Issei not walk in before it happened, "Mama!"

And next came the shock of his parents. That was when I also learned this was some sort of JRPG because I am in Japan. How did I figure that out? His parents were speaking in Japanese. Great.

* * *

The next achievement didn't come until I started kindergarten at the age of four, approximately two years after my new little sister was born. I guess I screwed up the timeline in this universe, but I don't even care.

_Achievement Unlocked: Enter kindergarten!_

_Reward: 5000 EXP, 50 Soul Mergence Points, 100 Base Modifier points and 50 Stat points!_

_Level up! Current level: 6_

_Reward: 15 Stat points, 25 Soul Mergence points, 1 Merit and 10 Base Modifier points!_

I levelled up, huh. I did the usual with the Base Modifier points, making me look slightly feminine. I reckon I'll look like a girl to anyone that casts a _very_ brief glance at me. With the Stat points I got, I decided to evenly split them into all of the stats, making them effectively look like this.

_Issei Hyoudou's Stats_

_Speed: 11/1000_

_Strength: 11/1000_

_Intelligence: 40/1000_

_Wisdom: 25/1000_

_Agility: 11/1000_

_Charisma: 11/1000_

I really think that I'm getting a head start in life. Most kids my age could only run about a hundred meters before they passed out. I could only run a few meters because my Speed and Agility were still very low. But I think I'm going to beat every kid in any race that may appear. And a strange thing that happened was my body tingling and numbing slightly when I levelled up stats that would physically affect me. And then I could feel my imaginary body feeling really hot for a moment before it faded. I noticed that Issei had wiped a some beads of sweat off of his forehead…strange…

You know what I did with the BM points, so straight to the SM points. I put all the SM points into Body Control once more. What? I want to be able to save what I am now calling my vessel if danger should arise. And with my Merit points, nothing happened. I still can't get anything else in the Merit section.

'_Little Issei-kun, are you having fun?' _Ever since Issei could actually start saying full sentences at the age of three, I decided to try and interact with him to try and create a pseudo relationship that I may deepen if he proves to be worthy enough. But I thought it was strange that I couldn't communicate with him through thought.

"Yeah, I'm having lots of fun, Kanzaki!" Yeah, Issei decided to call me Kanzaki, even though it's not my real…name…what was my real name? SHIT! Don't tell me I'm forgetting about my past life! What was it…what was…it…I don't really know…god dammit…

That's when I found out that this wasn't a dream of sorts, even if I hadn't known that I was wishing that this was all a dream. But I relished in seeing the looks on some people's faces when Issei starts talking to me out loud. I'm not even sure he knows what a thought is.

* * *

"_Hey, Kanzaki, what are you doing?" _Little Issei is now nearing five years old of age and he finally learnt how to have thoughts. I feel so proud for some reason. Is he smart because of the intelligence I helped him gain? Anyway, I got a Merit that was called 'Spiritual Defence' and it allowed me to come out of Issei's body as a shadow for a few seconds to deflect or take any life threatening attacks. And it only works once a day. Without my consent. The Merit has nothing to do with talking through our minds, though, so I'm weirded out. Do random Merits appear or are they set in place for certain achievements or scenarios?

Yeah, I'm having a hard time in life. My little sister, who is gracefully called Asuka, has entered what I like to call the 'onii-chan' phase. I think it's pretty self-explanatory so I'll spare you the details.

'_Nothing much, little Issei.'_

"_Do you want to do something?"_

'_Sure.' _I'd literally do anything to get off of the couch in the small house. The TV in this world sucks, except for the few animes that come on, like Dragon Ball and One Piece. Man, gotta love the stuff that is also in my world. Yeah, Dragon Ball and One Piece existed in my home dimension as well. Maybe this is some alternate dimension where I exist twice. Thinking about that hurts my brain.

"_Wanna go out and play?"_

'_Sure!' _With a weird grunt of somethingness, Issei got off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen where his mother was.

"Hey, mom, I'm going outside to play!" Issei's mom turned around and smiled slightly before nodding.

"Be safe, Ise-kun. I don't want you to come home covered in mud, okay?" Issei nodded at his mother's order, before he ran to the door and into the outside world.

And then we both forgot that it was summer. But I couldn't feel anything that Issei touched or anything that touched Issei for some reason, so I was ready to roll. With the first step out of the house, Issei was sweating buckets all over the floor.

'_Let's go to the park. See if other kids want to play.'_

"_Okay, Kanzaki." _Man, I have a massive influence over this kid. I just hope he doesn't grow up to be some pervert. If he does, I'm going to punch someone in the face. Literally. For a reason that has nothing to do with them.

After a short walk through the typical Japanese neighbourhood, we arrived at the park where there was a small amount of children playing around rather lazily. I think they should go home and be like every other child in summer. That's right, sitting at home in the air-con while eating food like there's no tomorrow…no? Only I did that?

_Random Encounter! Befriend Irina Shidou!_

'_Hey, Issei, become friends with that kid in front of you.'_

Issei stepped up to a boy that had some weird brown-blonde coloured hair and said the most cringe worthy thing ever, "Hey, be my friend!" I'm pretty sure everyone did that at least once when they were kids, so I'm not alone in this one.

The kid frowned for a second before smiling almost too brightly before shouting out, "Ok!"

"I'm Issei Hyoudou!"

"I'm Irina Shidou!" And a beautiful friendship had blossomed…ah, childhood sure is carefree.

_Random Enounter successful! _

_Reward: 1000 EXP, ability to open menus at will!_

Oh, yeah, I just realised that I never opened any of the menus at will. They magically appeared in my face after I levelled up. Suspicious.

"What are you doing here, Irina? I thought I told you to never come here again." Issei turned his head to the direction that the voice came from and frowned when a kid that looked to be eight years old began to walk towards him.

"Who are you?" Issei asked innocently as the kid sneered at Issei. Geez, I didn't know that children at that age could look so pissed off.

"Get out of my way, midget." Issei was pushed to the ground as the kid walked straight up to Irina with a fist raised.

_Random Enounter! Protect Irina!_

Shit, I gotta do something! The fist fell from the sky and struck Irina across the face, knocking him to the floor while he cried out in pain.

_Random Encounter Failed!_

_Random Enounter! Save Irina!_

…What? I fail something and then get given a mission of sorts that is related to the previous once. I should stop having a monologue as Irina is getting the shit beat out of him. Irina was getting pounded into the ground with the bully standing over him as kicks were aimed at his ribs and limbs and occasionally his head.

Without me realising, Issei had gotten up and charged the bully with a cry, "Get off of Shidou-san, you jerk!" And then Issei was backhanded.

_Achievement Unlocked: Get hurt for the first time!_

_Reward: Fight menu!_

Fuck off, achievement! I don't need you at the moment!

'_Listen, Issei, I'm going to do something that may confuse you.'_

"_Okay, Kanzaki. What are you doing?"_

'_This.' _I took control of Issei's body and stood back up quickly. I've got about thirty seconds to dispose of this prick. I ran up to the bully and ducked as he turned around with his arm outstretched, his arm flying over my head as I sprung up with my fist pulled back.

The kid's face widened in shock before my fist connected right with his nose, breaking it. The kid screamed as he covered his nose with both hands, blood flowing out of his nose and through the gaps in his hands.

"Go away before I hurt you even more." I said in a dark tone as my hair shadowed my eyes rather sardonically. And then the kid scrambled off while bawling his eyes out.

_Random Encounter successful!_

_Reward: 1000 EXP, relationship with Irina Shidou improved!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Hurt someone for the first time!_

_Reward: 50 Fight points, feeling in Issei's body!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Break someone's nose!_

_Reward: 100 Base Modifiers, 50 Fight points, 20 Stat points!_

"Are you ok?" I think I had about ten seconds left now. Wait, what!? All of that happened in, like, twenty seconds? I thought that that took about ten seconds to complete, even if I was slightly surprised that I still maintained my reflexes from my old life. And how am I so good at controlling this body so well if it's one of a child!? And why can I feel things all of a sudden!? Did I get an achievement or something?

"I…think…" Because Irina was lying face first on the floor, I didn't really get to see the extent of his injuries until he stood up and turned around. Frankly, I felt really angry at the kid, even if I did manage to get slight revenge by breaking his nose.

Irina had a forming black eye and I could see a few bruises on his arms and legs, as well as a theory that he had a cracked or broken rib from the kicks that he received while he was on the floor, "I think we need to take you to the doctor or something." And then I felt my control over Issei's body vanish into thin air.

"_Woah, Kanzaki, what did you do!?"_

'_It's a little secret~! But it might happen at random so don't be surprised if you can't control your body at times.'_

"_Okay!" _I wonder why Issei didn't contact me when I was fighting the bully. Maybe he can't.

"Ah, I'm fine, Hyoudou-san."

"Just call me Issei! And we need to take you to a doctor!" At least Issei can hear and see what I do when I control his body. That's a good thing, I guess.

"I'm fine, Issei-san. You can call me Irina, then! And no, I'm not going to the hospital!" Cue childish arm cross.

"We should at least take you back to your house!"

"I'm fine, really!" Then Issei had enough with Irina's stubbornness. He stepped forward, grabbed his wrist and led him out of the park and down a street before he stopped mid-step.

"Where do you live, exactly?" Issei's using a lot of big words today. I guess my stat distribution did something useful.

"Just down this street." Just like that, Irina's stubbornness is gone in an instant. What a surprise. After a minute of leading Irina, Issei stopped in front of Irina's house, "Let's go inside." Irina muttered before _he_ dragged _Issei_. What a role reversal. It was entertaining when Irina's father nearly had a heart attack at the sight of their kid with bruises on his body. I think the black eye was the feature that gave away that idea that he was hurt, so I was also kinda disappointed in myself for not stopping that first strike. Where was his mother, though?

"Irina, what happened to you?" His father had asked when Irina dragged Issei into the living room.

"The bully came again…" Irina was visibly depressed, and I don't want the depression of a small child hanging onto my soul for the rest of my current life. It would suck knowing that I could've down something to cheer him up.

'_Hey, idiot, cheer the kid up!'_

"Don't worry, Irina-kun! I scared the bully off forever!"

"Oh, who's your friend?" He only noticed me now? He doesn't seem to be blind or partially blind because there are no glasses in sight.

"I'm Issei Hyoudou!" Typical child introductions, always fun.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Irina-chan's father." Generic male introduction to children that are potential friends to his kid.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Generic child things again. I'm certainly having fun in here, aren't I?

"So you scared off the bully, eh?" Things seem to be getting interesting now.

"Yeah! He was really scared of me!"

'_Nice of you to take all of the credit.'_

"_Don't worry, Kanzaki! I won't forget to mention you!"_

"Yeah, dad! You should've seen Issei-kun get him right in the nose!" Irina was now enthusiastically shouting about how awesome Issei was. Why does he get the credit? I clearly did all the work!

"Oh, interesting. We should patch you up, Irina." Irina's father forcefully dragged him up the stairs of the small house, leaving me by myself in the living room. I wonder, how do I open the menu?

Err…menu open?

To my surprise, it did open. Right in my face. Causing me to try and scream out in shock.

"_Kanazki, what's wrong!?"_ Issei heard that? Wow, I must've forgotten that he could hear me if I tried to talk.

'_Nothing. Just realised something, that's all.'_

"_What did you…rea…realise?"_

'_Well, you said that word properly. Good job.'_

"_Thanks, Kanzaki!" _The attention span of this child is pretty low, I think.

_Current Level: 6_

_EXP: 3000/7000_

I'm not sure if that mathematically adds up. What do I know? I'm just possessing some little kid's body.

Anyway, I noticed that I unlocked a whole bunch of achievements from that one fight. I also unlocked the ability to feel what Issei feels, probably including emotions and pain, et cetera and a 'Fight' menu. Wonder what that is.

The 'Fight' menu appeared in my face again, but I was prepared this time. No screaming, I promise.

_Fight Stats_

_Pain Tolerance: 1/1000_

_Reflexes: 1/1000_

_Enemy Movement Tracking: 1/1000_

_Enemy Movement Predictability: 1/1000_

_Battle Strategy Planning:_

_Battle Versatility: 1/1000_

_Locked_

_Locked_

_Locked_

Just like BM, there is _a lot_ of locked options, and I'm not looking forward to unlocking them all. It'll be a drag to find out that they're useless. That's if they're useless.

So, what should I do with my current one hundred Fight points? Let's see…for now I'll go fifty in Pain Tolerance and fifty in Reflexes…yeah, those'll be good because the other ones are useless at the moment.

My BM menu opened, and I did the usual routine. Dump all the points in Feminine Beauty. Geez, maybe I should start putting them into Lolita/Shotaro Body…nah, I don't want to be small. It won't be fun at all.

My Feminine Beauty stat is already looking healthily filled out.

_Feminine Beauty: 290/10000_

I'm still thinking up a reason as to why Feminine Beauty requires more points than the other ones and I haven't been able to come up with an intelligible answer.

And with the 'healthy' amount of normal stat points I managed to gain, I decided to spread them 'evenly' once more.

By that, I mean that I put four points into every stat but strength. It would be suspicious if a borderline five year old is able to lift a chair up…not that it has happened before…

Now they look like this.

_Speed: 15/1000_

_Strength: 11/1000_

_Intelligence: 44/1000_

_Wisdom: 29/1000_

_Agility: 15/1000_

_Charisma: 15/1000_

I'm going to be the smartest pre-schooler ever. While I was adding my several points into their respective areas, I didn't notice that Irina had finished being fixed by his father. And I didn't notice that a conversation about Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z had started…wait, time flows when I'm putting my stat points in now!?

"I reckon Frieza is better than Goku!" My, Irina is being rather bold with her statements. To be honest, Frieza was my favourite as well, even if he was an asshole.

"Why did Goku beat him, then!?"

"Because he cheated!"

"How did he cheat!?"

"He dodged Frieza's Death Saucer and let them cut him in half!"

"Goku warned Frieza about it!"

"…"

"…"

"He still cheated!"

You know what, I am so fucking done with this conversation!

'_Issei, let's go! Frieza's better and there's no denying it!'_

"_Goku's better!"_

'_Fine then! Ask Irina for a Goku versus Frieza battle outside!'_

"Irina! I challenge you to a duel! Goku versus Frieza!"

"You're going down!

* * *

"KAME…HAME…HA!" Irina jumped to the side and widened his eyes as he imagined the legendary Kamehameha flying past him.

"Hahaha! You'll never defeat me, Sayajin, for I am the might Frieza!"

"I won't forgive you for killing my friends!" Issei began powering up as he imagined himself going Super Sayajin.

I didn't expect something this intense to happen. Definitely not in the middle of a park where younger kids watched in awe at their 'battle'. I'm not even sure if their following the real battle, though, so I can't say for sure who's going to win.

"What's this? Your power level is rising!?" Are they even following the script now?

"You'll pay for killing my friends! KAME…HAME…HA!" And then Irina pretended that his lower half had been blasted off, falling onto his back while looking up at the sky.

"Damn…it…stupid…Saiyan…getting…in my…way…" And then Irina pretended that he was dead.

"See, I told you Goku was better!"

FOR FUCKS SAKE!

* * *

In the end, Irina ended up becoming a fan of Goku as well, just like Issei. But their disputes never ended about who was better. And the battle that started the whole thing was short. _Very _short.

I also, I unlocked a menu when I finished preschool and it was called the 'Study' menu. Everything in it was locked which may have pissed me off slightly, but that doesn't matter right now.

But, Irina and Issei entered their first year of grade school two years later, and it was hilarious when a random Dragon Ball fight between everyone in the whole class somehow started during the middle of class. Needless to say, it was hilarious when there was a tag team of Piccolo's, a whole army of Goku's, a single Frieza (not gonna tell who that was) and a Cell in his Perfect Form.

Somehow, all the Goku's except for Issei were murdered, one of the Piccolo's died from 'running out of energy', leaving Perfect Form Cell, Goku, a Piccolo standing on the sidelines and Frieza. And Cell and Frieza teamed up against Goku.

"KAME…HAME…HA!" One of Frieza's arms are gone now.

"Blasted, you stupid monkey!" An arm was extended outwards and eyes widened, "Death Beam!" Goku fell to the floor clutching his stomach, "Tch, I missed his heart."

The teacher was stunned, standing at his podium with his mouth wide open at the number of students lying on the floor, pretending that they're dead.

"FRIEZA!" And then Issei 'turned' Super Sayajin.

"No, this can't be possible! A Super Sayajin!? That isn't possible!"

"Please, everyone, share me your power! I need it to defeat Frieza and Cell!" And then all the 'dead' people pretended to share their energy with Goku, 'creating' a giant Spirit Bomb, "SPIRIT BOMB!"

And then everyone but Goku…'died', I guess. Happy days, everyone dies and Goku wins like always.

"See, Goku is waaaaaaaay better than Frieza!"

"No he's not!"

I'm never going to stop hearing this, am I?

'_SHUT UP AND ACCEPT DEFEAT ALREADY, ISSEI!'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the support guys! I'll try to make the rest of this story enjoyable, so stay tuned until it is finished…! Eventually! To the story!**

{Page break}

**The Definition of being OP**

"Irina-nii-chan, what's this?" An unexpected development. In Irina's house.

"Ah, that's Ise-kun's Gameboy!" Just as Irina had said, Asuka was indeed holding my Gameboy.

"What does it do?"

"You can play games on it!" Ain't that obvious? I think it's called a 'Gameboy' for a reason. Hint, the game in the title. Understand now?

"What type of games?"

"Games like Pokémon!" I'm pretty sure Pokémon is the only memorable game on the Gameboy. Also Tetris…I'm not even sure if that was on the Gameboy.

"What's…Po…poke…"

"Pokémon?" Asuka nodded in a cute manner, and Issei couldn't help but smile at that. At times like these, I wish that I could just run up to her and hug her. I don't think she'll exactly like it with how hard my grip on her would be.

How old is Asuka again? I'm her brother and I don't even know that, but she's something like five years old. She's in preschool or something, so congratulations to her.

"Do you want to have a try?" Irina asked as Asuka stared intently at the blank screen.

"It's not on, you know, Asuka-chan!" Issei chuckled as Asuka began pressing buttons rather cautiously for some reason. That was until Irina bothered to turn it on for Asuka and that spoiled my fun.

Asuka stared down at the screen, her shoulder-length-almost-silk-like brown hair covering any visible features on her face, especially her large and innocent honey brown eyes.

Man, I should stop observing how people look when I have nothing to do.

'_Hey, Issei, stop going through the Dragon Ball manga just to find reasons of why Goku is better Frieza.'_

"No, Kanzaki, I have to do this!" And Issei said it out loud. Asuka and Irina turned towards Issei with confused looks etched upon their face, and I couldn't help but shed an imaginary sweat drop. It was a much needed sweat drop, so nothing went to waste. But I did see a sword in the corner of the room we were currently occupying. It seemed to omit some sort of…warmness. I just can't explain it so I'll just leave it be for now.

"Who's Kanzaki, onii-chan?" Cue nervous laughter. I'm gonna let Issei do this one himself because I always do things for him. I know, evil, but I don't give a damn.

"He's…err…ah…an imaginary friend?" Good job, Issei! Now you are insane to the eyes of the social world! I feel so proud of you!

"Ah, ok."

…

…

They ignored me like I was nothing…I want to die now…

"_Ah, cheer up, Kanzaki! Know that I know that you're real!"_

What the hell!? Can he read my thoughts!? I never said anything to him!

* * *

The sun was setting dramatically as Irina and Issei sat on a set of swings in the park with Asuka standing in front of us, "Ah, Ise-kun, I just remembered something."

"What did you remember?"

"I'm moving away from here tomorrow." I think the sunset and swings have set the perfect mood. That added with no one except the three of us in the park at the moment, it was perfect for some drama.

"What? You can't move away! We still haven't figured out why Goku is better Frieza!" Irina chuckled lightly while staring off into the sky with his tilted back.

"Nah, that's just you. Frieza's better than Goku!" Irina turned his head to face Issei, a smile etched onto his face. This is like a scene out of an anime. You know, the ones where one of the characters die shortly after the emotional scene.

"Whatever you want to say, Irina-kun! Goku will always be better!" Issei grinned widely while tears threatened to spill from his eyes. I would be sad as well, given that my one and only true friend was never going to be seen ever again.

"Whatever…ahahaha, I wanted to tell you earlier but I didn't want to see you cry."

"Don't worry about me…I'd be fine!"

"That's hard to believe when you cry while saying that." That was true. I could feel the tears running down Issei's face. Frankly, I felt like crying as well. But, despite that, Issei chuckled at Irina's comment as Irina stood up.

"Hey, Irina-nii, where are you going?" Asuka asked as Irina began to walk towards the exit of the park where the sun was coincidentally setting. Irina stopped for a few seconds before he turned his head to look at us, a grin on his face as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Somewhere great, Asuka-chan! Take care of yourselves and don't grow up to be perverts!" And then Issei nodded as Irina began walking again. The pervert part was a random thing to say, but I reckon it was meant to be taken as a joke of sorts.

"Irina-kun! Come back soon, yeah!?"

And then he was gone.

"Onii-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah…yeah…I'm okay…"

Issei didn't notice the river of tears flowing from his eyes.

* * *

"Onii-chan, where are you going?" Night has fallen now and Issei is running in the direction that Irina had disappeared off to. I told Issei to be smart and to just go to Irina's house, but he denied almost immediately saying something about me lying to him. So I suggested for him to run after Irina instead of sitting around and moping like a little bitch.

Like, what the hell is wrong the kid? I'm trying to help him here!

"Onii-chan?" For some reason, little Asuka decided to tag along as well. Because Issei is being an asshat, I decided to take control of his body.

"Ah, nothing Asuka-chan. Just trying to find where Irina-kun went off to."

"But didn't Irina-nii say he was leaving here?" Damn, she's good.

"I want to say goodbye again."

"Oh, ok! Can I come?" My god is Asuka being really cute at the moment. Especially the head tilt. THE HEAD TILT!

"Sure!" I set off walking at a slow pace that Asuka could keep up with and when I was convinced that she would stay next to me after I had asked her, the control of Issei's body had dissipated. And that was when things went downhill.

"My, what do we have here?" A suspicious figure walked out of nowhere and into our path. He was wearing a grey coat of sorts with a black face mask that covered his mouth and nose and some type of glasses that were tinted so no one could see his eyes. If you ask me, I'd say that he was a child sex offender, but something seemed…off, I guess.

"Could you please get out of our way?"

"No." At least Issei asked politely first.

"Again, could you get out of my way?"

"I'll leave you alone if you give me her." A finger was lifted and it pointed directly at Asuka…hell no. He's not taking the loli away from me!

"No! I'll never let anyone like you have Asuka-chan!" For a second, I thought that I was in control of the body somehow because it's something that I would say. The speech was so inspirational, though!

"Hmm, what's this? Is a puny human like you denying me?" And then a…motherfucking GIGANTIC SWORD CAME OUT OF HIS COAT?! AND IT GLOWS IN THE DARK!?

Wha…I don't understand life anymore…

And then I helplessly watched as the guy charged straight towards Issei while Issei was busy staring at the sword in shock.

"Ise-kun, watch out!" And then Irina came out of nowhere and jumped in the guy's way.

Two screams echoed throughout the streets of the small neighbourhood. One of them in pain.

"IRINA!"

Irina's body slid off the sword and onto the floor where it lay still, blood pooling around it rapidly.

"Hmm, what's this? An unexpected heroine comes in to save her love! How romantic!" Heroine? What does he mean?

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO IRINA!?" The guy stopped his musing and turned to look at Issei with a blank expression.

"I…killed him…see, this is what happens when you deny my orders! People will die! Now, hand over the girl next to you before I kill you."

"I…I…I don't…I…I WON'T ALLOW THIS!" And then Issei went…more or less a strange real life Super Saiyajin. A crimson aura surrounded him and the ground beneath him cracked and cratered under his feet. The man? He was laughing maniacally. Now that I think about it, Issei is kind of in Kaioken right now.

_Unlocked Sorrowful Rage_

"So, you carry the Boosted Gear, do you? It's a shame that you haven't awoken it. If you do right now, this fight will be much better!"

Issei flew towards the man. Literally. In the span of three seconds, Issei threw several punches and a surprising roundhouse kick at the guy, all of which were dodged with ease until the man decided to retaliate. Issei received a fist straight to the stomach and it sent him flying down several house blocks until he hit the floor and bounced, impacting into a wall and creating multiple cracks and fissures in it.

It's surprising that Issei knows how to fight. Hell, the only reason why he's able to respond with follow up attacks so easily is because his Reflex stat is starting to blossom. Now, if only there was a way for me to join in on this fight.

Issei was back on his feet, running pretty quickly at the man. What happened next…broke my sanity for the day. Issei was impaled through the stomach on the sword of the man, his body hanging limply on the sword. That's when the pain hit _me_. Not Issei, but me. In control of his body.

"Hmm, finally given up, have you?" I let a mischievous grin spread onto my face.

"Not in the slightest, idiot!" I gripped the guy by his wrists and…pulled myself down the sword. He grinned madly at my action, I think. But that made me angrier. So angry that I began to laugh. Like a mental patient in serious need of a psychologist.

"You keep on surprising me. However, I'm afraid that I must take my leave now." And then the guy just…disappeared. I dropped to the floor with the sword still stuck inside of me.

The worst part? I lay there, watching as the world cracked and fell apart with what seemed like giant fragments of glass falling to the floor around me, exploding and showering me in the shards of it. And then everything went dark.

_**Lives left: 3**_

And then time seemed to reverse back to when Issei stood up from the cratered wall.

'_Don't charge head on. If you do, you'll die, so play this smart and carefully approach him.'_

The whole situation was confusing me. I die and respawn, simple but confusing at the same time. I know that this whole life is a video game, but it feels…strange to experience dying again to then experience time reversing itself.

Honestly, I don't care about how many lives I have left. I think what matters is living this life to the fullest. In that case, I'm going to guide Issei and hope that he listens.

Surprisingly, he actually listened to my advice of carefully approaching the guy, but in a light jog with all sorts of chances for him to be killed instantly. Surprisingly, the bad guy was standing exactly where he was when Issei was punched half way across the world. See the sarcasm?

And then Issei jumped into action without me telling him to. I know that I never said for him to wait for my signal, so I'm to blame if he gets killed, I guess.

Flying fist dodged. Half-hearted kick dodged. All of the attacks that Issei threw were dodged and it was quite infuriating, to say the least. But I have to give the kid some credit because he's holding out against the guy.

He didn't notice the sword flying towards him, though, but my 'Spiritual Defence' trap card did. The swipe was blocked by a black shadow and redirected so it didn't hit Issei after it was blocked. And then the part of my body where the shadow got hit went all numb.

'_Issei, he's seriously trying to kill you now.'_

"_I KNOW! I NEED TO KILL HIM TO AVENGE IRINA!"_

'_Calm down, kid! Getting angry will do nothing but hinder you!'_

"_DON'T TALK LIKE YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL!"_

Issei ducked slightly to avoid another sword swipe that would've decapitated him…I just realised something potentially crucial for our survival. The guy swings pretty slow with that sword of his so he might not be experienced with it. A thought that came into mind wasn't very pleasing to me, but it was probably correct. The guy might just be toying with Issei.

And then Issei hacked up a bunch of blood when the sword managed to impale him in the gut once again. That's when I was given control for some reason. And the red Kaioken-like aura disappeared. It didn't last time so why this time?

"Ow, that hurts…do you mind pulling the thing out of me?" I could just imagine the guy frowning as I frowned while inspecting the sword inside of me. It's a giant broadsword, light grey in colour with a thin blue line down the centre of it. Oh, that line was glowing, by the way. The hilt was a simple metal one which was the same colour as the blade.

"What? You're not reacting…negatively anymore?!" Did I mention that my body was hurting like a bitch…hang on…where the hell is Asuka?

"Nah shit."

"Hmm, what should I do?"

"Maybe let me go? My friend over there is dead and I'm gonna die if I don't get medical attention right away." The guy went silent for a moment, probably thinking about what to do with me.

"You pass the test." And then he disappeared and Irina disappeared and the sword clattered to the ground and I was fine.

"Onii-chan, are you okay?" Eh, what the hell!? Asuka wasn't here a minute ago for some reason.

"Nothing…let's just go home right now. Mom and dad are probably really worried." Asuka nodded and turned around to walk home. Me? I picked up the sword and it changed. In my hands.

It was now a one handed short sword with the same design as the broadsword. What I didn't expect for it to do was to absorb itself into my right arm, a faint blue rune showing on my palm before it disappeared. It's a shame that I didn't get to observe the rune because it's probably magical.

* * *

It was one year after Irina's departure from the neighbourhood. It was strange because Irina was alive, but then a thought hit me. I was duped. By magic. By _illusion magic_. And I unlocked a new menu called 'Magic'. Yup. Nothing's unlocked on it yet, so I'm bummed.

Issei was depressed and he's only an eight year old in his third year of grade school. Yeah, things were pretty dire for the kid. He didn't listen to me, so he went and did his own stuff by himself while I left myself deep in thought about what happened one year earlier.

That sword guy was good, and he was holding back. I didn't forget about the sword because it's _inside_ of me. I don't even know how to summon it out of my hand because it probably requires magic. Wait, that guy's OP. He's even better than being OP! He's...the _definition_ of being OP!

To the current situation, Issei was sitting on the swing in the park where he last saw Irina. That reminds me, Irina never came to say goodbye on the day the he moved.

"Onii-chan, are you okay?" Ah, six year old Asuka came running up to Issei. Issei, however, stared at the floor in depression.

"…"

"That's rude, onii-chan! You have to answer a question if someone asks you one!" Asuka is…very intelligent. Maybe even a genius and that's the reason why she's already in her second year of grade school. She's also the youngest in her whole entire grade because everyone is a year or two older than her, so she doesn't really have any proper friends because everyone thinks that she is just a baby. Even if she's smarter than them.

How is she that smart? She raided all of the books in the house one day when she was bored. Let's just say that she visits the library a lot now.

"Come on, onii-chan! You have to answer my question! Are you okay? Yes or no?" Issei gave a shallow nod, one that Asuka wasn't happy with, "With more spirit!" Issei took a deep breath and nodded 'enthusiastically'.

"I'm fine, Asuka. I just want to be alone." Asuka frowned and flicked Issei on the forehead very hard, judging by the way that his head dramatically snapped backwards so he was looking up at the sky.

"You say that every single time! You clearly need to talk to someone if you're acting like this!" Issei grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

"JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" And then Issei stood up and walked straight to the exit of the park with anger and rage rolling off of him in waves. The kid just needs to take a chill pill. Maybe antidepressants while he's at it.

I could hear the faint cries of Asuka behind him as he stormed away.

'_YOU FUCKING IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU HAVE DONE!?' _It's my turn to be angry now.

"_SHUT UP, KANZAKI! WHY DON'T YOU JUST DISAPPEAR AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

'_I CAN'T, YOU IMMATURE BRAT! I'M STUCK WITH YOU FOREVER!'_

"_I NEVER WANTED YOU TO BE IN ME IN THE FIRST PLACE!"_

'_I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER!'_ You know what, screw Issei right now.

With my majestic power of body control, I ran back into the park and to Asuka who was still crying. Dammit, Issei, you piece of crap, "Asuka-chan…I'm sorry…for getting angry at you earlier." She looked up at me and god did she shoot arrows through my heart. I thought I was going to die on the battlefield of love, but everyone knows that love will always prevail!

Her large eyes looked like someone had…killed someone close to her. The dampness of her face and the flushing of her cheeks supported that idea very well…I should stop thinking like a pessimist.

"Onii-chan…you idiot…you big meanie!"

"Ahaha, I'm sorry, Asuka-chan!" By this point, I was nervously rubbing the back of my neck while Asuka repeatedly punched me in the stomach very softly. Even if she is a genius, I sometimes forget that she has the mentality and emotional stability of a six year old.

And then I lost control of Issei's body about one minute later. To my surprise, Issei actually embraced Asuka while I thought about my new record of the body control. It was about…a minute and fifteen seconds…I'm making great progress…

* * *

Nothing really happened until Issei's first year of junior high when he was twelve years old. Well, apart from him becoming a major pervert to keep his mind off of Irina's departure from the neighbourhood. That was when things started to get interesting. It all began before the opening ceremony. Issei was walking through the large crowds of people towards the gym hall.

Oh, one thing that I just remembered. I got a notification telling me that my party size has increased and that two people may be in it. Technically one because I'm already in it.

Anyways, a kid that looked to be six or seven years of age kept on grinning at Issei maliciously. His appearance was freaking me the hell out. He had short spiky black hair that covered his small, narrow eyes and a…white ahoge stuck out of his head. The ahoge was the part that was freaking me out because it just…didn't seem right. It complimented his very pale, porcelain doll-like skin, though. And he appeared to be young because of how short he was. He was at least up to Issei's stomach, and he was wearing the school's uniform.

That continued to happen until everyone settled down into the gym hall where the opening ceremony began. I tuned myself out while Issei tried to not stare lecherously at every girl he thought was 'beautiful'.

'_Oi, pervert, stop being a creep.'_

Another off topic thing that scared me the most was that the guy that attacked and killed Issei hadn't shown himself since the encounter in the street a few years ago, as well as the fact that I haven't made any progress in my stats or levelling because nothing has happened.

"_I'm not being a creep! I'm just admiring their beauty!"_

'_Says the person drooling at that third year.'_

"_H-hey! I'm not doing that!"_

'_You are too.'_

"_You just can't handle how great the female body is!"_

'_You sound very creepy.'_

Moments like these are what entertain me in this boring life of not moving. As the opening ceremony came to a close, all the first years were split into classes and were taken to their classroom by their teachers. The kid that freaked me out happened to be in my class as well, and he wouldn't stop throwing me that terrifying grin every now and then.

When Issei's class watched as their teacher introduced herself, a slip of paper slid onto Issei's desk, which was in the second row to the front and two columns away from the classroom door. He read it and what it contained creeped me out. A lot.

_You're next._

Those two words were enough to make my soul shake and shiver in surprise. And then it came for Issei to introduce himself. I decided to take control. I clearly can't trust this pervert to make a good impression because he'll shout something like, 'I'm going to be the Harem King one day!'

I stood up with the nicest and most charming smile I could muster, "I'm Issei Hyoudou and it's nice to meet you. Let's have a good year, yeah?" And then I sat down and disconnected my control of the body, "AND I'M GOING TO BE THE HAREM KING ONE DAY!"

Somebody call an ambulance…I think I'm going to die of second hand embarrassment…help…

"That's…nice, Hyoudou-san." I think that that's the only thing the teacher could think of saying. If I was her, I would've been like, 'The fuck are you going on about?'

But I'm not her, so I didn't. Wait, never mind, I'm not gonna die of second hand embarrassment because no one knows what a harem is at this age. God, am I lucky or what?

Then the creepy kid introduced himself as 'Ryuuji'. No last name. But the day carried on normally, so I guess my concerns about him were misplaced.

* * *

"So, what is it that you want, Ryuuji?" Issei was summoned to behind the sports shed for some reason by an anonymous person. By that point my danger sense should have been going haywire, but it didn't for some reason.

The reason of my danger sense going off is probably because I don't have one.

"Nothing, really. Just a fight." The kid wants a fight? If he wanted to fight, why pick Issei? Is it because he looks weak? Seriously, he looks weaker than a newborn toddler, so I think that Ryuuji made the right choice if I wasn't inside of Issei. But I am, so tough luck to the kid.

"Why do you want to fight?"

"No particular reason." That made Issei raise an eyebrow. I mean, who wouldn't if a kid that is creeping you the hell out randomly asks you for a fight?

"Err…am I supposed to say 'ok, let's fight!' or something like that?"

"Yes, you are."

"If I say it will you leave me alone?"

"What is your definition of alone?"

"Just myself."

"But you're never going to be 'just myself'. It's simply not possible."

"What the hell do you mean?" I was confused as well. I think this conversation fully supports my earlier comments on this kid.

"I mean that there's two of you." Crap, does he know that I exist?

"Again, what the hell do you mean?"

"You have two souls…that appear to have merged together."

"_Kanzaki, have any idea what he's saying?"_

'_Nope. I don't want to be a part of this crap.'_

"_Too late, you already are!" _I could just imagine Issei giving me a shit-eating grin while he said that.

"Hmm, so you already know about the second soul?"

"Err, I…guess?"

"This changes things entirely, then. I'm Ryuuji, nice to meet you."

"Are we going to fight or what!?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, buddy, but no."

"What!?"

Ryuuji is definitely creepy. Really. Fucking. Creepy.

* * *

**And now, for a random omake because I want to have a cliff hanger and can't think of anything else!**

"Onii-chan, do you have one of these?" Asuka was studying a book about the human body for some reason. Never knew we had one of those.

"Wh-what!? Where the hell did you find that book!?" Issei attempted to snatch the book from Asuka but she held it out of his reach.

"Again, do you have one of these?" Asuka was pointing to a picture of the…male genitals…

I wish that were some crickets in the background right about now.

"…Uh…er…"

"So, you're like me then?"

"WHAT!? NO!" Issei was healthy blushing while Asuka attempted to pull his pants down. All that came to mind was the word 'cute'…I have an unhealthy obsession with Asuka, don't I? Ah, shit! I need to have a coffee break with my imaginary lawyers now…

"Come on, onee-chan~! Show me!"

"Get off of me, Asuka!" Asuka was thrown across the room and out a window…on the second floor of the house…onto the street below..., "Shit, are you okay, Asuka!?"

"Don't worry about me, onee-chan~!"

"SCREW YOU!"

"Aw, I love you too."

'_Help me, Kanzaki!'_

"…"

'_Kanzaki?'_

"_YES! IT DOESN'T COUNT AS PAEDOPHELIA NOW!"_

'…'

"…"

"Gotcha!"

"WHAT THE FU-!"

* * *

**Looking back, this chapter wasn't as good as the last one, was it? I need help with possible Merits, though. Also, thanks to Kinunatzs for telling me that Agility and Speed are the same…yeah, I screwed up. I'll fix that soon. Or, one of you can suggest what the Speed stat can be for. Also, should I tell you guys to listen to BGM on certain parts that you can listen to if you want? It'll make scenes much better, I think.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A New Meaning to Life, I Guess**

Hmm, if I had to have one thought on my current situation of endlessly falling through time and space, it'd have to be 'bullshit'. Yup. I call bullshit on this situation. Like, seriously, who the hell trips and falls into mysterious ripples in the walls when they're running away from certain death with their unconscious little sister in their arms? Certainly me, it seems like. And it's freaking dark in here. How did I get into this situation? Well, I can tell you because I have nothing better to do.

* * *

"Do you mind telling me why you're following me?" Issei asked that question as he walked home. Ryuuji was following us for some reason, and it still made me think of the kid as a fucking creepy person.

"Not following. Observing." I raised an imaginary eyebrow. This kid's standards must be pretty screwed up if stalking someone back to their house in plain sight is observing, then what is 'following' to the kid? If he doesn't have a sense of time or a need for personal space, I'm going to kill someone because those aspects of people definitely piss me off.

I'm rather angry today, aren't I?

"Could you please, you know, STOP STALKING ME!?" That was unnecessarily loud…I miss the birds from the tree in that random person's yard already.

"Not stalking. Observing."

"You're weird."

"So I've been told." Alright, I'm also starting to get confused. What the hell did I do to deserve this anyway? Is it because I magically exist?

Issei stopped walking and turned around, Ryuuji's face directly in front of Issei's. If any person came by, they'd probably think of this being some sort of…romantic relationship between two guys. And I don't want any more second hand embarrassment today. That 'Harem King' stuff is getting on my nerves because Issei won't stop thinking or talking about it, mostly to me with the talking part because I'm the only one that knows what a god damn harem is.

"I sense a fluctuation in the ripples of time. Tell me, has the second you done anything?" It's kinda creepy how Ryuuji knows that I exist when I haven't really done anything worth noticing. Anyway, I'm interested in what he means by 'the ripples of time'?

"What does that even mean?" Issei rose an eyebrow with a slight frown, his brows furrowed. Issei's kinda stupid because my Intelligence stat hasn't rose a single bit. Add that with nothing unlocked in my Study menu and you get a complete idiot.

"The time-space continuum-"

"Don't even go there." I said, now in control of Issei's body for the second time today. Ryuuji raised an eyebrow by a fraction while I sighed with my hand rubbing my forehead. I feel a migraine coming.

"Why not, second Issei? Surely you want to know what I mean, considering that you are the one and only cause for the slow destruction of the universe." I froze at that. So my existence is completely destroying the universe, eh? Good job me. I knew that I always wanted to blow up the universe for fun, but I didn't think that just existing would make that happen.

"Hmm, I think that I'll pass for now. Maybe when Issei is more intelligent. Anyway, any idea of how to fix what I've apparently done? And, I know you might hate me for asking two questions in one conversation when people can ask more than two, how do you even know about me?"

"My creator gave me the ability to change and adapt to what you want me to be. In other words, I am your slave." I rose an eyebrow. This wasn't something I was expecting…how long have I been controlling Issei's body today, anyway?

"Who is your creator, why am I still control Issei's body and how can I stop the universe from blowing up because you didn't answer that question?"

"I was created by Universe, the supreme ruler of everything. Universe is allowing an exception this one time to allow us to have this current conversation. As for your last question, there is only one way. That is to travel to the lost plane of existence that is known as 'Oscrea'. Every adventurer that has gone in there has never came back because there is no way to return to this plane of existence."

Ryuuji said quite a bit. Scratch that. He said a lot. And I stood there in mild confusion while he was answering my questions, so I decided to have a short revision session in my mind. He was created by a guy called Universe, maybe the creator of the actual universe. He pulled strings to let me talk to Ryuuji and I have to go to an abandoned dimension thing called Oscrea. Nailed it, right? I kinda feel proud of myself for some reason. And then I remembered something.

"You said that you can change and adapt to what I want you to be, right?" I got a nod in response, "Does that mean I can only change your personality or does it include appearance as well?"

"You can only change my personality as my creator has created me to look like the perfect image of them." That's kinda selfish, don't you think? So a guy came along and was like, 'hey, I want someone to look like an image that I wish I look like!'

"Hmm, okay then. I want you to be cheery and act as a good friend and companion." I saw Ryuuji's face go blank and the colour of his eyes vanish before the reappeared again.

Ryuuji grinned and walked over to me with a fist out, "Hey, Kanzaki, watcha doing?" So he forgot the current conversation, then. I wonder why.

"Nothing much, Ryuuji."

"Just call me Ryuu."

"You're nothing like a dragon."

"I am too! Watch this!"

"Don't breath fire at me, you idiot!" Ah, Issei was back in control at that very moment.

"Wanna know how to do it?"

"Of course!"

"Too bad, it's a secret!"

* * *

The whole situation I found myself in was unbelievable. Ryuuji was standing beside me on the top of the school building with a magic circle majestically drawn in the middle of the roof. And it was glowing. I didn't even know that things like this were even remotely possible until now.

Issei was walking to school with Asuka with a stupidly lecherous expression showing on his face. And then Ryuuji came out of nowhere and said something really creepy, "Hey, do you want to come with me, little boy? I have a surprise for you."

Issei stopped walking, nearly throwing up on the street as he realised what was wrong with that sentence. It was really fucking wrong. Issei went with him anyway and that's how I ended up in this situation.

"Are you ready, Kanzaki?" Yeah…I was also in control of Issei's body for some reason.

"Sure thing, fake dragon!"

"HEY! DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I chuckled as Ryuuji started screaming out fire. Yup. He screamed out fire. I'm still confused over how that works.

"Um…are we going to do this or what?" I asked as I narrowly dodged a fireball that was aimed my way. And I flinched as a wall behind me exploded.

"Yeah! I'll see you later!" And then I found myself falling into a magical rainbow coloured portal that appeared out of nowhere where the magic circle used to be. That was kind of a tongue twister.

And as I found my outstretched arms falling into an annoying sleep of numbness, I saw Asuka in her seifuku running towards me…wait, Asuka!?

"Onii-chan!" And then she tripped and fell in with me. Before I felt darkness overcome me for some reason, I heard Ryuuji say something that I couldn't quite make out at the time.

"Shit…mission failed…"

* * *

That's how I found myself in this stupid gap of time and space…wait, how do I even know that this is a gap in time and space? It's just really…dark and empty. Is time and space empty? I don't think it is.

"…Onii-chan…" Ah, little Asuka is awake now. I think. Is she? I can't tell because I'm somehow on top of her.

"Yes, Asuka-chan?" She wriggled around for a bit before she stopped moving entirely.

"Where are we?"

"No idea." That was true. I had no idea. Well, maybe partially knowing what part of the universe dimension thing I was in is knowing where I am. And then I think I stopped and hit solid ground because I suddenly hurt all over my stomach, legs and face.

"Ouch, that hurt, onii-chan." Eh? I did nothing to her.

"Ahaha, it wasn't me, Asuka-chan!" I could just imagine her pouting at me as I said that. Hmm, well, I think she really did do that.

"Then who did it?"

"I don't know."

"Where are we?" So many questions and no answers. Well, nearly no answers.

"If I told you that were stuck in a gap of time and space, what would you do?"

"…A gap in time and space? What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I thought would happen."

Yeah, I was expecting that to happen. Asuka's only like, ten years old, so how should she be expected to know what that means?

"What are we going to do?" My attention is instantly stolen from my thoughts like butter on pancakes…wait, that's not right…maybe it should be…money from a bank…no, a bank is too secure…

**In an undisclosed location**

"Alright, let's start this heist everyone! We'll get crazy rich!"

…

"What the hell, you said your plan to break into the vault was foolproof!"

**Back to the current situation at hand**

"Onii-chan? Are you alright?"

"Quiet, Asuka, I'm trying to think of something that'll make sense."

"What is it?"

"I lost it now."

"Sorry."

"Yeah, thanks. It wasn't important anyway."

"Why?" Dammit, Asuka, why so many questions!? I can't answer them all!

"Just go to sleep."

"No way."

"What? It's past your bedtime, can't you see that?"

"There's no moon." Dammit, she got me there. It's on, Asuka! I stand up and do a pose, my right hand shadowing my right eye and left arm curling around my body.

"Silence, mortal. The - have planted magical runes into your soul. I, - , will purge your soul!"

That attempt at a reference didn't go so well. Also…WHY THE HELL DID IT BLEEP OUT THE NAMES!?

"Hmm, what's going on here?" Eh, there's a new person.

"Are you the one that destroyed my reference!?" I shout, twisting around to try and find this new person. I can't find them, though.

"You got the pose half right but the speech pattern was terrible."

"HEY! I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY AND DO BETTER!"

"I don't feel like doing it at the moment." That person is such an asshole, judging by what they're saying. Also, they sound like a guy. Great.

"…You know what, just show yourself already."

"Why should I?"

"Because the universe is slowly destroying itself…tell me, are you this guy called Universe?"

"Close, but no cigar! I changed my name!" This guy is really pissing me off. Can I kill him?

"What the hell!? So Ryuuji lied to me!?"

"Not really." Automatic deadpan imagination on the person that is talking.

"How so?"

"I changed it after I sent him to you."

"…"

"…"

"Onii-chan, who are you talking to?" What? Can't Asuka hear this crazy guy?

"Can't you hear the crazy guy?"

"What crazy guy? If anything, you're crazy." Ouch, Asuka's got some sass now. I'd hate to be on the end of her anger when she's full of sass.

"Hmm, are you thinking of sibling abuse?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Onii-chan, you're starting to scare me." Asuka's tearing up now. How do I stop that!? She rubs the tears out of her eyes quickly, though, so I didn't really notice right away.

"Is your little sister going to cry?" Why is it that when I'm in control of Issei's body, everyone hates me!? That rises another question! How the hell am I still in control of Issei's body!?

"Ah, just…go to sleep or something, Asuka."

"There's no moon." She sweat drops, albeit very warily and in an afraid manner as she has no idea how she's sweat dropping. I'm beginning to have suspicious thoughts about Asuka.

"Issei is dying."

"Issei is dying!?" Wait, that's good for me! I can control this body forever when Issei dies!

"Onii-chan is dying!? Wait, why are we saying this?"

"I don't know, Asuka-chan, I don't know."

"Can we go home now?"

"Yes." We walk through the pointless gap in time and space for a few steps before I walk into something, a loud thud type of some echoing around us. Did I mention that my face started to bleed?

"You'll never escape my impenetrable barrier!" I make the stance I did from before, but with my left arm outstretched.

"-!"

"Haha, my anti-reference shield also works!"

"GOD DAMMIT! LET ME HAVE SOME FUN!"

"NO!"

"Onii-chan, I'm just gonna go…over there…away from you…" I stop and turn around very slowly. _Very_ slowly. I reach out and grab Asuka on the shoulders and take a deep breath.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE'S THE REAL ASUKA!?"

And then she cries. I want to murder myself.

"Maybe I should move the plot development along now."

"What?" I couldn't help but ask that. Is this guy breaking the fabled fourth wall!? Wait…it doesn't matter in a gap of time and space, right? I'm confused…and my head is hurting just thinking about it…

"So, welcome to my humble abode, Kanzaki."

"Let's skip the introductions. We've wasted screen time so we need to skip the unimportant parts!" And then I heard crying in my heard while Asuka sat still. Staring at me. Staring into my very soul. Yup. Creepy. Again, everything's pretty much creepy to me, isn't it?

"Gasp…did you just break the fabled fourth wall!?"

"You already did it."

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, do you want to know why you are here instead of that Oscrea place?" I nod once, expecting the guy to hear it. Turns out he didn't when he asks me the question again. Albeit, slower for some reason.

"Yeah…let me guess, because Asuka happened, right?" I heard bells for some reason…did I get the question right?

"Yes and no. It wouldn't really matter if Asuka existed in the universe or not because she doesn't have any special powers. But when she fell into the portal, the universe started blowing up in random places." So she's literally going to kill everyone in existence, then.

"So, err, are you going to send me back in time or whatever so I can fix this?" And then I heard laughter.

"Pfft, what is this, a shonen manga? No, wait, maybe it's shoujo!" I growled as the laughing increased. I was getting really freaking angry at the guy. I want to kill him. But I can't. Because he's hiding.

"Stop insulting me before I kill you." I manage to surprisingly say calmly when the laughter died down.

"Oh, does it look like I care when I can wipe you and Asuka out of existence with a snap of my fingers?" Dammit, he's got me cornered.

"Just…kill me then, if it'll fix the universe."

"Oh no, it's broken beyond repair. I'm afraid that you'll have to create a new one or find a way to travel back in time."

"Can't you send me back in time?"

"Nope. You need to go to Oscrea to do that." I'm getting confused now. An omnipotent being that created the universe can't send two kids back in time. Seems legit. Sarcasm included.

"Can you at least send us there?" I asked in clear irritation over how stupid the past ten minutes have been. I mean it. The moment I hit an imaginary ground I knew that shit wasn't going to get real. It was going to get fake.

Scratch that, bad joke.

"Yeah, of course I can! I'm not called the God of Time and Space for no reason!"

"…"

"Is something wrong?"

"…"

"I'm serious. Is something wrong?"

"YOU'RE THE FREAKING GOD OF TIME AND SPACE AND YOU CAN'T EVEN SEND TWO KIDS BACK IN TIME!? WHAT KIND OF GOD ARE YOU!?"

"The God of Time and Space." I blanch at how nonchalant he is. All colour drained from my face and I lost all strength in my body. I fell to the floor as it started to glow a bright cyan blue…why cyan of all colours? I mean, I don't have anything against it. It's a cool colour and all but it's not…epic. I think that that's the word I'm looking for.

"Well, goodbye, kiddies! Enjoy the strangely euphoric experience!"

"What the hell is euphoria!?" Asuka suddenly shouted. Can she hear the guy now…where the hell is the real Asuka? I mean, she doesn't talk like that, even if she's ten years old!

And the last thing I felt and heard before I blacked out was something soft and a small feminine squeak. Strange.

* * *

Waking up with a headache has always been a bitch, even if I'm still drunk from last night because I only slept for an hour. That's off topic.

When I awoke, I found myself on top of Asuka with my hands in…not safe places for someone to touch a ten year old. Well, not in but on. I think my actions are justified because a stupid god decides to be stupid to a bunch of kids.

But Asuka blushing really hard with her eyes squeezed shut and her shoulder length brown hair splayed all over the black and cracked floor made me rethink my choice of getting off, "Err, are you alright, Asuka-chan?" I still don't understand how I'm in control of Issei's body because my time must've been up about an hour ago. Maybe more depending on how long I was unconscious for.

"…Onii-chan…you pervert…" I nod slightly. I accept any responsibilities she may set upon me.

"Come on, get up! We have stuff to do!" What happened next will forever be imprinted into my mind.

"Not until you…take responsibility…" I could feel blood running down my nose very rapidly, as well as feeling light headed. Is this the legendary anime nosebleed of perverseness? Asuka slowly opened her eyes and nervously stared straight into mine.

Nope not happening. I look away and cover my nose with my arm. I may have taken 'responsibility' if she was older…no, that's wrong! She's my sister…but she's technically not my sister because this isn't my real family…no, it's still wrong. She's a child!

While I was having mental battles over whether or not to take 'responsibility' because I'm not a dense asshole, I didn't notice Asuka walk up to me and tug on the sleeve of my shirt. You know, the typical school uniform one. The black gakuran that middle school kids usually wear? Yeah, that one. Also, it was the sleeve that wasn't the arm that was stopping me from bleeding out.

"Y-yeah, Asuka-chan?"

"Are you going to take responsibility?" And my arm covering my nose was useless as a pool of blood started to form around my feet. Then Asuka walked to my front, moved my arm from my nose and cupped my cheeks. She was still blushing madly and that in turn made me blush as well as I knew what the hell was going to happen.

What type of manga does Asuka read, again? Was it romance comedy? Yeah, I'm taking those off of her next time I see her reading one.

I leant my head backwards as Asuka attempted to plant her lips on mine. It's not like I wouldn't having that sort of relationship with her, its wrong because she's my little sister. I guess the 'wrong' side won, huh?

Asuka pouted at me as she realised that I was trying to avoid the intimate contact, "Aren't you…going to take responsibility, Issei-nii?" Whoa, she stopped with the 'onii-chan'. Must be serious about this then.

Ah, to hell with it! It may be wrong, but I can't help myself! Asuka was caught off guard as I firmly planted my lips against hers, repeatedly telling myself 'that it isn't wrong because it technically isn't incest'.

And then I broke apart.

I regret nothing.

And then I noticed the scenery. There was large skyscrapers and buildings that were decayed and crumbling with the occasional building that looks as if it was burnt to a crisp. The sky was grey, hell, everything looks like it's been put through a filter to make it look black, white or grey. So, knowing that I observed what a surprised but weirdly satisfied Asuka and I were standing on. Guess what it is? An exact copy of the school roof we were on.

"I-Issei-nii…so you're going to take…responsibility?" Blood threatened to spill from my nose again. I shook my head slowly and rubbed the back of my neck nervously. I'm in too deep. I have no choice but to accept. Crap.

And then the world seemingly froze.

_To add a person to your party, simply ask, "Would you like to join my party?"_

And then time sped up again. Because that weird tutorial seemingly knows what's best for me, I decide to ask it, "Hey, Asuka, would you like to join my party?" Brief confusion flashes across her face before she frowns.

"Answer my question first, Issei-nii. Will you take responsibility?" In other words, date my ten year old sister.

Agh, people are going to kill me for this, "Sure!" Asuka smiled a rather beautiful smile and nodded her head in response to my answer and question.

"In that case, I'd love to join your party!"

And then she froze in spot. Not moving, not doing anything. Did I break her?

In an off topic conversation, how many 'ands' have I said as a starter to my thoughts? I think I say it too much, so I'll try to stop it…hmm, it seems like a difficult task, but I'll try.

"I-Issei-nii…what…what is this?" So she knows that her whole entire life has been a crappy video game.

"I hate to break it to you, but this world…no, this life, has been a video game. From the day you are born to the day that you die, you're just a character. I'm apparently the protagonist and you're a side character. You had no importance in this world until you joined the party. Now you're like me. A protagonist. Not some mere side character that has no idea what's happening in life." My words appear to have hit her pretty hard. She took a step back, and then another before she fell onto her backside.

"No…no…that can't be true, can it!?" She shouted, tears forming in her eyes. It's understandable that she'll cry. She just realised that her whole life has been a lie.

"It is." I took a step forward, then another, closing the gap between us in a few seconds. I crouched down in front of her, holding a hand out to her. She stared into my eyes once more, clearly hesitating on what she wants to do, "Do you want to accept this reality? Do you want to change it?"

Asuka nods once, "I do!" She reaches out and grabs my hand and I pull her to my feet when I stand.

"We have a universe to save."

…That was a cheesy line. Very cheesy.

* * *

A growl emanated from the convenience store we were going to take a break in, exhausted from the day's events. We had encountered nothing up to this very point, and Asuka was still trying to wrap her head around the game that was now her life as well as mine.

We stop in our tracks and look warily into the shadows that sent the small shop into darkness, one that I couldn't see through. I smiled lightly at the thought of the darkness. I think staying dead would've been a better fate for myself as well as the world.

"Issei-nii, is there something in there?" At the sound of Asuka's voice, the sound of glass shards being stepped on emanated and resounded throughout the street. Asuka took a step back in surprise and fear, not that I could blame her.

But, as a wolf the size of myself in height pounced out of a broken window and onto myself, I had one thought. I thought that it was a great time to level up. Having a wolf try to maul your face off at the start of the battle isn't a good move, though.

I grabbed both of its legs and head-butted its snout, hoping that it'd do something good for me. Turns out that that wasn't a very good idea. The wolf snarled and reared its head back, howling into the grey sky of this mirror dimension.

And then I realised the urgency of my current situation. Asuka hasn't moved a single bit since the start of the battle and I was in an extremely vulnerable position, as well as more of these giant wolves appearing at any second because of the howl the first one let off.

I swore under my breath, multiple plans flying through my head. And then it snapped. I should just push it off of me and stun it before running for my life.

That plan might've worked if Asuka wasn't here with me, so I discared that one. I followed up with the first part, though, and I failed slightly. I managed to lift the wolf up as it finished howling, only to bring its attention back to me.

It attempted to bite at my jugular but I just attempted to push it to the right off of me and it worked, surprising me enough to stun me for a few seconds. Those few seconds nearly cost me my life. I rolled out of the way as the wolf lunged at me from its position on the floor, managing to snag the back of my gakuran's collar but not far enough to get my neck, luckily.

I jumped up quickly and jumped backwards as it performed another pounce type of attack. I jumped to left quickly and watched as the wolf snarled at me in mid-air. I ducked as a claw came sailing towards my head, intent of swiping it right off.

I growled as I failed to notice the follow up attack, a claw cutting me deep in the chest. It wasn't deep enough to get between my ribcage and hit anything, but it was deep enough to make me bleed quite a bit.

It also tore off my gakuran and red t-shirt I was wearing underneath, so my chest was bare at the moment and it made me feel uncomfortable. Asuka still hadn't moved, staring off into space. I need to finish this fast, though, as the wolf's buddies may be arriving at any second. Actually, I can hear them coming towards us right now.

I rolled forward under a pounce and extended my legs mid roll, winding the wolf as my foot connected with what seemed to be the stomach as well as a few ribs, a cracking sound emitting from them.

I took this chance to run up to the injured wolf and grab it by its neck, holding onto dear life as it shook around for dear life, trying to get me off. But that was what ended the wold a few seconds later, a rather forceful shake sending me off my feet and into a nearby wall, my grip when I went flying snapping the wolf's neck.

I shake the disorientation out of me with my head before I stand up and run over to Asuka. That's when I noticed one of the wolf I killed earlier jump off of the convenience store's roof. It jumped right into my path, so I had to face it if I don't want Asuka to get ripped to shreds.

I felt a growl rising in my throat. If only I had some sort of power to save Asuka with! I charged the wolf head on as I heard several thumps shake the ground around where Asuka is, yelling a battle cry. The pack has arrived, and they're not happy. I slide under the wolf, badly cutting my leg up on shards of glass as well as the concrete.

I stand in a roll and set off in a dead sprint. One of the wolves pounce. Too slow, I tell myself. I need to save Asuka! I told her I'd take responsibility, right? I jump as Asuka is pinned to the floor, teeth bared and head ready to lunge.

"I said, I'd take responsibility, right?" The wolf was biting down on my arm, blood pouring out of it as I pried the mouth open very slowly. My words snap Asuka out of her trance and I let my hair cover me eyes sardonically.

"I-Isse-nii…what are you doing!? You're getting hurt because of me!" When the wolf's mouth is open wide enough and the rest of the pack is getting ready to rip me shreds, I tear my arm from the teeth and let my blood fly.

"I said I'd take responsibility, right?" Asuka gasped slightly and I imagined tears forming in her eyes. I punched the wolf who bit me right in between the eyes, knocking it off of Asuka. I followed up with a pounce of my own, slamming an elbow down on its snout, sending the head to the floor. I heard a crack, as well as a whine before I lifted my foot and sent it through the head of the beast.

"Issei-nii, you should just run away and leave me here! We'll both die if you don't go!" There was five of them left and two of us. Well, one because Asuka wouldn't fight. This'll be hard.

* * *

**This chapter was fun to write. Especially the end scenes where things are finally getting serious. Have you noticed that Kanzaki's thought pattern changes when he's serious? And no, this might not be an incest story. Planning to have a harem at one stage. Well, three to five people count as a harem right? Definitely.**

**Sorry for delay. Been busy.**


	4. Chapter 4

**{WARNING! THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTER IS DARK! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! WRITING STYLE IS ALSO DIFFERENT THIS CHAPTER! IT WILL GO BACK TO NORMAL NEXT CHAPTER!}**

**A Life Changing Paradox of Sorts**

I frowned for a split second in the midst of the battle. How will I save Asuka unharmed? She's on the ground with a bleeding shoulder because of the wolf that was on top of her and it seems to hurt quite a bit when moved.

The five wolves trapped us in a circle and I grimaced, thinking that we were totally screwed at the moment. And then I remembered something. The sword that I absorbed into my hand! The only thing was that I didn't know how to get the sword out of my hand. Whether it be from a phrase or a pulse of magical energy, I had no idea what to do.

"Hey, Asuka-chan, stand up slowly." I almost whispered, my whole front covered in blood from the still bleeding claw cuts and my arm dripping with blood from the bite marks. Asuka complied and got up very slowly, wincing in the progress. One of the wolves growled at her and took a few steps forward, so I stood in front of her, body tense.

I wondered why they weren't attacking us when we killed their brethren. Are they waiting for the pack leader or something else? And then I heard it. A window shattering howl followed by mini earthquakes that threatened to knock Asuka and myself off of our feet.

"Issei-nii…are we going to die here?" I didn't make a comment, several parts of my mind running through various scenarios of what could happen. All of them resulted in death. In what seemed to be our last moments, I decided to give Asuka false hope.

"Nah, we're going to beat them into the ground!" I flashed a grin with a slight turn of my head. She smiled lightly back at me in response and I shook my head slowly.

"How are we going to escape?" I grimaced once more with my head facing away from Asuka. I didn't want her to see the truth of the situation. The truth that we were going to die here. Together in an abandoned mirror dimension of Earth.

To some that might seem like a good way to die. Away from the hierarchy of society and the many laws that it entails. To me? It was hell. No one would find our bodies, probably just mangled skeletons amongst abandoned vehicles and buildings.

And then the mini earthquakes stopped. I could hear something breathe quite heavily, and I turned my head towards the direction that it came from. I wish that I never did, opting to die without knowing what had killed me, what ripped me to shreds, what killed my little sister that I loved too much, what ended my existence in the world.

And at that moment I realised something. I realised that it didn't matter if I died. I was just one of the many small lives that occupied the Earth. But Asuka did matter. To _me_. And I'd travel to hell, to heaven, to wherever if it meant that she could live through this.

So I did that unexpected. I grabbed Asuka by the hand and flung onto my back, my hands holding her thighs and her arms wrapped around my neck. I muttered to myself a few words that could come back to bite me in the ass, "To hell with it."

And I ran. I ran for our very lives. Our little dots of a life in the universe. I wasn't scared to die. That only meant that I was scared of living.

Asuka buried her head into my neck in fear as I jumped onto a wolf's snout, using it as a springboard to jump over the rest of it. I led myself down the street with slightly narrowed eyes. I could hear barks and snarls behind me as the miniature earthquakes started up once more.

I ducked into an alley and sprinted down the entirety of it and onto a street that had a few broken cars scattered on the road. I ignored those as they weren't important at this very moment. Escaping was.

I turned into the yard of a house as a wolf pounced at us. I wasn't having any of that, though. I quickly turned around and delivered a spinning kick to its temple, snapping the neck of the beast with the amount of force that my new found anger had granted me.

I continued forward, kicking the door of the house down. I sprinted up a set of stairs beside the door and into a room with a window across from me. I jumped through it and felt shards of glass threatening to lodge themselves into my body, so I grabbed one. A particularly big and sharp one that could tear an eye to shreds.

I landed on the ground in a crouch and jumped to the side as a wolf landed where I was a second ago. I was sweating and panting fiercely, as well as the effects of blood loss. I felt dizzy, nauseous, my skin was pale and my heart felt as if it was going to explode out of my chest.

I took a step back as the wolf turned its head towards me with a snarl, so I turned and took tail again, only to trip over my own feet as my body began to feel cold and numb. I felt my head hit the floor, an increase in dizziness, some liquid covering my head and severe disorientation.

I drew it up to being a concussion, a severe one at that. I felt a sudden fatigue, as well as bile rising in my throat. I stood up on shaking knees, my head facing the floor, my body hunched over and blood covering my face as Asuka cried into my neck. This is it, huh? I'm going to die.

I fell onto my knees and stared up at the grey sky. It began to rain, the sky weeping for me as I became a victim to the harshness of this world, another soul lost. I clenched the piece of glass in my hand and listened as several wolves came towards Asuka and myself.

I wanted to fight back with all the ferocity and anger that I could find in myself, but I was weak. Too weak to save Asuka. Too weak to save myself. Too weak to save the universe. Maybe it would've been a better fate if I had died back on that fateful day. Perhaps this is all a dream and I'll wake up, still dead.

It didn't matter what happened after I died. I'd be too heartbroken to be coherent in any shape or form. So I let them come down onto me, feeling the claws and bites of several animals rain down upon me, my back to the ground so no harm could come to Asuka.

She screamed in fright and possible pain while I cried to the sky, "Why does the world have to be so cruel!?" Lightning flashed and a building crumbled to the floor a couple of kilometres away from us, sending a dust cloud over the surrounding area. My vision was covered. There was nothing I could do now.

"Issei-nii! Help me!" I saw one of the wolves drag Asuka out from underneath me as my right leg was torn off. I was surprised that I was still alive at this point. I should be completely dry of blood and yet, I was still alive.

I turned my head with the last of my strength to see Asuka clawing at the ground as she was dragged around to an area where I couldn't see her, the dust cloud supplying that blind spot. Pleas and cries followed, a scream following several seconds followed by silence.

I screamed in sorrow. I couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't handle the pain. I couldn't cope with the sounds of my little sister screaming at me to _save_ her. The one thing I couldn't do.

So I laughed. I laughed like a mad man. It echoed around me as the rest of my limbs were torn off, as well as my stomach being slit open. My throat was torn to pieces and I still laughed. I realised something in that moment of insanity. No one was safe!

Something would kill someone someday! I would gladly accept my death at this young age! I had nothing to live for anymore! My little sister was dead, I was practically _dead_! Who cared if I died!? Certainly not me! I was afraid of living!

And that gave me…strength…to fight back…

I thrashed about and felt a howl build up in my throat. I let it loose as the dust cloud settled. It wasn't a howl, it was a yell of anger and sorrow.

And then I moved. I moved my arms and my legs, even though they had been torn off, and I fought back. I grab a wolf by one of the front legs and threw it through the wall of the house and out the other side, my limbs having regrown in the split second that it took for me yell.

Shortly after, the house was then decimated by the swipe of a giant tail. That beast from before, the one that made me realise that Asuka _has_ to live through this was towering over me, growling. I rolled backwards into a crouch, my hands clapping together on instinct.

I pulled my hands apart slowly, a grey shimmer of light forming the sword that was sealed into my hand in the street many years prior. I held it up in front of me with two hands clenched tightly around the hilt with my body hunched over by the slightest fraction, "I…I-Issei-n…nii!"

I remembered Asuka. I remembered seeing her being dragged through the dust cloud and out of sight. She was in front of me, crawling towards me slowly on her hands and feet as blood was smeared across the floor where she crawled. She was badly cut up with her left arm nearly torn off straight from the elbow and a deep cut that stretched along her waistline.

She winced every time she moved and it pained me to see her like that. I walked over to her as she collapsed to the floor, sapped of her strength and will to move. I lifted my arms under her body and carried her over to a tree that I didn't notice was nearby and propped her body against it. As I turned to leave with tears forming in my eyes, a pale and cold hand gently grabbed my wrist.

"Issei-nii…am I going to…die? Don't lie to me…" She said weakly and softly. I thought she was going to break if I moved in the slightest, so I didn't.

"A-Asuka-chan…I'm sorry…it's all my fault! I'll do anything for you! I'll kill that monster! I promise." A sob escaped from my throat as the hand let go to fall back to the side of its owner. My hair covered my eyes and a maniacal grin spread across my face, tears running from my eyes as a shimmering crimson aura appeared around me.

The beast made its move first. It was more or less a giant version of the wolves that had killed Asuka, the ones that had run away when the giant one crushed a house with its tail. But it had four tails and three eyes. Hideous, I had thought.

I ran at the beast with my arms behind me, the sword digging a trench in the ground as I made no effort to keep it in the air. I jumped as a tail was sent at me and it appears that the jump wasn't enough to dodge it.

I flew through the air with my sword in front of me, having taken most of the force behind the attack. I crashed through a skyscraper and went straight through it as the giant wolf ran after my body with the intent to devour it whole.

The skyscraper crumbled to the floor as I hit the ground, bouncing once then twice until I dug my sword into the ground to stop me. I had no wounds when this battle began and I was confused as to why when I was torn to shreds moments prior.

But I shoved those thoughts out of my mind as I wiped some blood from the corner of my mouth. I wasn't fast enough and presumably not strong enough to do any damage to the beast, so I had no choice but to lay down and die.

I wouldn't accept those thoughts when memories of Asuka flashed before me, tears escaping my eyes once more as a foot came down to crush me. My body moved on its own, running to the side and jumping out of the way as the foot came down, the crater appearing from the stomp mixed with the oncoming shockwave sending me flying face first into a wall.

I slid down the wall and stared into the ground, gritting my teeth. It hurts too much. I hurt too much. At this point, I should be insane having seen my little sister dying in front of me. But I couldn't. I just couldn't go insane for her sake.

I…just…couldn't…

And that made me furious. I stood up from the floor and locked my eyes on the beast. It was howling, but I couldn't hear it. Amongst the silence, I clenched my fists and let tears fall from my eyes as I turned my head to the ground.

The ground beneath me splintered and the crimson aura darkened. The ground gave way and a giant crater exploded underneath me.

I wanted to die. I wanted to lie down and accept my fate. I wanted to give up and let everything I've done go to waste. I wanted to let Asuka's death go to waste. I was going to let my final promise to Asuka go to waste. I was going to embrace the icy sweetness of the Shinigami's hands.

And that gave me strength for some reason. Some unknown reason. Why is it that I get strength when I'm about to die? When I finally accept my death? Why can't other people get this strength? Why not Asuka? WHY ME!?

I never wanted any of this. I never wanted anything to do with anything! And yet, I find myself running at the beast with my arms dragging behind me, each step I take cracking the ground beneath me.

I jumped, my sword above my head. I jumped higher than the beast, higher than the buildings. My sword came down as quick as it came up, but it was batted to the side along with my body, through buildings. But I wasn't having any of that.

I wanted to live. For some strange unknown crazy reason, I wanted to live!

I spun in the air and landed on my feet in a crouch, digging up a trench as I slid along the floor. I wiped more blood from the corner of my mouth as I smiled lightly. I was having _fun_.

I ran again, much faster than before, sprinting many miles as that was how far I was knocked to the side. The beast charged at me and I gladly met that charge face on. I jumped to the side and ran under it. I jumped and stuck my sword into its chest. I cut open its stomach with another jump.

I let myself get hit by a tail swipe. I went flying again.

The cycle repeated many times over. Over and over and over.

A tail came off. An eye was cut to pieces. I was crushed. But I didn't die. I didn't fall into the icy arms of the waiting Shinigami because I _was_ the Shinigami in this very moment. I had come to claim this monster's soul and that was why I couldn't die for the Shinigami couldn't die.

I grit my teeth as I stood up on trembling legs once more. I had to kill the monster. I _needed_ to kill the monster.

My life was on the line. The universe was on the line. Billions of lives were at stake and that's why I needed to end the monster.

If the monster died, I'd have no more troubles in finding out how I could create another universe where Asuka and I exist, right? A universe where Asuka lived.

So I got up again. I never stopped. That's what anyone would do in this situation, right? They wouldn't stop fighting until they died, right?

I jumped onto the snout of the beast and ran towards its eyes as it furiously shook its head to try and shake me off. I stabbed one eye and the next, effectively blinding it. I jumped up onto the top of its head and to where its neck should be.

My sword came down and I lost my balance. I held onto my sword with all my strength, but it was useless. My sword was torn from the monster's neck and I was flung through the air. A thick dust cloud coated the ground below from the buildings that we've crushed and that hindered my visibility the whole time that I had fought on the ground.

A tail came along and furiously batted me into the ground. My body exploded with pain and a small crater exploded underneath me as the ground shook furiously. Many more buildings fell to the ground, intensifying the trembling.

And then I was thrown to the side every time the ground shook as one giant thud was heard.

I lay in place as the ground stopped trembling and the dust cloud slowly lifted. I wiped blood from the corner of my mouth once more, wincing when I coughed up a mouth full of the stuff. It didn't click in my mind that my ribs could be shattered or that my lungs and vital organs could have been crushed during the encounter.

My mind was entirely blank. I felt no emotion. I felt nothing. Not even the remnants of a shell. I was _nothing_.

I heard movement beside me. I turned my head. It was Asuka's corpse. A hand reached out and patted my head. A sad smile graced its grey face. Its lips moved but I heard nothing.

My eyes widened as its lips met mine for the last time.

"Issei-nii…I love you…"

As the corpse went limp, I did something that I haven't done for the in both of my lives.

I mourned for the dead.

* * *

_Achievement Unlocked: Kill for the first time!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Escape a group of pursuers!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Defeat a Realm Field Boss!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Killed Slagclaw the Spiritpaw!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Kill your pursuers!_

_Achievement Unlocked: Mourn for the dead!_

_Reward: 250 Stat points, 300 Base Modifier points, 300 Soul Mergence points, 250 Fight points, 100 Magic points and 50000 EXP!_

_Unlocked: Sorrowful Rage Version II: Blindly Bloodthirsty!_

_Level up! Current Level: 12_

_EXP: 8000/12000_

_Reward: 75 Stat points, 125 Soul Mergence points, 3 Merits and 50 Base Modifier points!_

I scoffed as I looked over the achievements I had just unlocked. I was still sad after Asuka's death. I mean, who wouldn't? And the 'Realm Field Boss' was super easy…well, it took the…never mind…

Anyway, I was currently resting in an abandoned car I had found undamaged. I was on edge. Actually, very jumpy. I didn't want an encounter like the one I had just been through. But I think I may encounter some more monsters as I have been hearing howls and whines and scuttling sounds in the night.

Yup, it was night here in Oscrea.

Also, it turned out that the large amount of blood loss from the cuts I inflicted on the Realm Field Boss kill the Realm Field Boss. And when it died, its body exploded and a small grey jewel in the shape of a circle with a line going through it appeared instead. And when I pocketed the jewel, my sword went back into my arm.

With nothing else to do but sleep, I decided to allocate my points. I think I'll be crazy strong after this…

_Stat Points_

_Speed: 100/1000_

_Strength: 75/1000_

_Intelligence: 64/1000_

_Wisdom: 59/1000_

_Agility: 100/1000_

_Charisma: 41/1000_

I think I'm gonna go fast…get it…no? Ok then, just ignore that joke…Hang on, aren't Agility and Speed basically the same thing? I think Agility is how easily I can run and do things while speed is how fast I can do those things…yeah…I think I'm right.

_Base Modifier Stats_

_Feminine Beauty: 640/1000_

_Feminine Physique: 1/1000_

_Lolita/Shotaro Body: 1/1000_

_Gender: 1/10000_

Wait…is it just me, or has Feminine Beauty gone down by a zero? Hmm…I wonder…

_Soul Mergence Stats_

_Body Control: 560/100000000_

_Spiritual Influence: 0/100000000_

_Thought Influence: 40/100000000_

_Physical Influence: 0/100000000_

Ugh, I have a _very_ long way to go if I want to be able to control Issei's body for as long as I like. I reckon that I'd only be able to do it for about thirty minutes now. Not even that. Maybe fifteen minutes tops.

_Fight Stats_

_Pain Tolerance: 101/1000_

_Reflexes: 101/1000_

_Enemy Movement Tracking: 51/1000_

_Enemy Movement Predictability: 1/1000_

_Battle Strategy Planning: 1/1000_

_Battle Versatility: 1/1000_

_Endurance: 101/1000_

_Vitality: 1/1000_

_Locked_

There was one more locked option and I really want to know what it is. And I realised that I have a very long way to go with the Fight menu before I'm a freaking god. Next came the…magic menu…

_Magic Stats_

_Mage: 1/100_

_Locked_

_Locked_

_Locked_

There was about twenty or so locked options. I was glad that I at least unlocked _something_ to do with magic. Realising that I had points to put into magic, I dumped them all into magic. And boy, was I surprised at what came next.

_Magic Stats_

_Mage: 100/100_

_Basic Magic Control: 2/100_

_Basic Rune Studies*: 1/100_

_Simple Fire Manipulation: 1/100_

_Simple Lightning Control: 1/100_

_Simple Water Conjuring: 1/100_

_Simple Earth Summoning: 1/100_

_Options marked with a '*' require study and cannot be improved through the use of stat points_

I was shocked. I had unlocked so many things in such a short time! Now, to test out my new magic skills! And I put my last point into Basic Magic Control!

Err…how do I do that? How in the hell do I summon fire or create giant mud walls from the ground? I kind of regret unlocking all of that stuff now. My hand hovered over the 'Accept' button for my all of my stats to save. Then I remembered something in the back of my mind.

I haven't checked the Merit section in a long time. Maybe I've unlocked something new.

_Merits_

_Spiritual Smoke: Locked_

_To unlock Spiritual Smoke, you must have a Spiritual Influence of 100 or greater_

Awesome. Just. Bloody. Awesome. I should've checked the Merit section before I allocated my points because I'd be able to use this new move.

It's getting late, anyway, so I should confirm stats and go to sleep.

Once I confirm my stats, I contort, scream and writhe in excruciating pain. And those screams attracted the attention of a lot of monsters. Once I stop writhing in pain, I swear very loudly while jumping out of the abandoned car.

I turned around and ran backwards down the street as I saw something giant land on the car. It was a fucking giant spider. Cue shudder. It was a pitch black, about three storeys tall with glowing red eyes.

Nope. I'm nopeing the fuck out of here.

I turned around and began sprinting as fast as I could. It was pretty fast. But the spider still managed to keep pace with me.

I turned down a street and quivered when I saw something that was a mix between a cat and a caterpillar. I think I'm going to have nightmares now.

I ducked down into an alleyway and cried out as the giant spider was above me, crawling down the wall. The caterpillar thing was coming from behind me, trapping me in the alleyway. I made a weird guttural throat sound as the spider somehow hissed at me. I looked around frantically for a way to escape…how the hell did the spider get into this thin alley anyway?

No! Bad mind! I need to think of ways to escape!

Just as I was about to stabbed, eaten, whatever the hell was going to happen to me, something grabbed me and pulled me through a door where it slammed shut.

It was very dark in the place I was in.

"Err, please don't eat me?" It came out as a question, but I don't care! I want to die by the hands of a person! But when seductive giggling echoed in my ears, I froze in my tracks…did I hear right?

"You don't need to worry. I won't eat you." Did I hear right? I stuck my pinkie in my ear and dug around for a few seconds before pulling my finger out. Nothing! So I did hear right!

"What are you going to do…?" I heard footsteps in front of me. Oh hell no! I'm backing the fuck away from this chick!

"Hmm, why are you moving away from me? I won't hurt you, you know." I think I rose an eyebrow.

"How do I know that you're not lying?"

"Because I'm not." Deadpan.

"I don't think you can see me right now, but my face is set in a deadpan."

"…"

"It should explain everything…"

"…"

"I'm just gonna go now…"

"Oh, you're not going anywhere." I felt something wrap around me as I turned to walk away.

"I just want to go home."

"You can't." A sweet and…is that poison in the voice? Err, I'm not sure how this conversation is working. I don't even know how my mind works.

"Why~? I just want to sleep as well~!" I whined like a child as I let my body go limp. I pouted and forced all my weight to go towards the ground.

For some reason, I was dropped onto the floor when I did that. I also hit my head. Very hard. _Very_ hard…that person's going to pay for that…

"You have something that I want~!" I gagged and backed away very slowly…I seriously don't understand my mind at all. I think I may need psychological evaluation soon.

"That sounds very wrong. If you're going to do it like that, at least give me some light." I felt something punch me in the stomach so hard that I nearly vomited all over myself…oh, wait, it's just a random sack of…potatoes…that were dropped on me…

Potatoes…potatoes…potatoes…this must be a sign…

"You're very deep in thought."

"Potatoes…"

"Yes, I was going to mug you and ki-!"

"Hmm, what was that?" I snapped out of my weird trance as I heard the word mug. This person is trying to mug me!?

"Err…nothing!"

"Yeah right, don't try to lie if it shows in your voice!"

"SHUT UP!"

"NO!"

"Please?"

"MAYBE!"

"WHY ARE YOU ANGRY!?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" I definitely need that psychological evaluation. Like, right now…I hope when I get back to my world Ryuuji doesn't try to scream fire at me when I tell him that I was nearly mugged. And that I nearly died.

Yeah…maybe I should invest in some type of anti-fire shield. It'll help me. Maybe.

As my mind wondered, I didn't see the several lights in the building turn on a blind me. Maybe I'm due for an optometry test as well. I also didn't notice the figure standing above me.

The one that had a very long sharp thing in her hand…is it supposed to be a sword?

"Well, I guess introductions are in order. I'm Katsumi, nothing more and nothing less. Nice to meet you." She bowed to me slightly while I shoved the potato sack to the side as I got up onto my feet.

"I'm Issei Hyoudou. You can call me Kanzaki."

* * *

**Sorry for over dramatic crap in this chapter. Was listening to Shingeki no Kyojin soundtrack while I was writing the fight scene thing so that's why it's really strange and dramatic and confusing. Asuka isn't gone forever. Cliff hangers…blah blah blah…enjoy the chapter? I need Merits for Kanzaki…**

**Canon starts the chapter after the next one or the one after that.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Err, Things are Confusing now!**

Short black hair, small green eyes filled with mischief and a constant smirk. I can already tell that I won't like Katsumi. Add my statement to the fact that she's pinning me to the floor with her face close to mine, you get an angry child.

"As I was saying, there's no point in trying to fight for your freedom. You're too weak." Yeah, I kind of decided to attack her…stupidest thing that I've done.

"If you get off of me, maybe I'll try to be good." I hope the sarcasm got through to her.

"Hmm, I don't wanna." I was slowly getting angry at this chick on top of me. She has no right to put me in suggestive positions that I'm totally not enjoying in the process! That made no sense.

"Err, I know you have a thing for me, but let's work things out slowly." I received a knee to the stomach. And it hurt. A lot. I actually think I vomited a little bit inside of my own mouth.

"Because you're deciding to be a prick, I'll set out some rules. One, don't try to grope me or try to commit any perverted actions," I was going to raise my hand to make a point, that point being that Katsumi was literally as flat as a board. My male instincts warned me that I'd lose what made me a man if I went through with it, "Two, don't be a prick and three, try to be a good boy, okay?"

"Why are you making it sound like I'm your slave?" I seriously don't think that asking that question was a good idea. Ah well, screw logic!

"Because you technically are." There was a few moments of silence. I would happily trade anything to escape the wrath that I knew I was going to unleash.

"Fuck that shit!" And I was out of the room. Oh yeah, how can I see in the dark now? I know I haven't died or anything, so everything's all good with me.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" I ran into an imaginary wall. I hope I'm happy with myself. Wait, why am I even saying that in the first place? I don't understand my mind anymore.

"Please have mercy." I said that in a monotone with a deadpan for some reason.

"If it weren't for Kami, you'd better hope that you go to Heaven."

"No thanks, too much white in that place." I clearly saw the confusion spread across Katsumi's face before she snapped her fingers.

"That was a joke! It was, right?" Does she not know how to act like a person or something?

"…Yeah…so, why am I here again and why are there invisible walls blocking my escape?" Anyone would be curious about those things, right? Or am I alone on this?

"Ah, so you're the person that I was supposed to be looking for!" I almost blanched.

"What does that even mean!?"

"Kami herself sent me." I motioned for her to continue and she didn't move a single muscle.

"So, Heaven is real…does that mean that Satan exists as well as Hell?"

"No, those are just monstrosities that humans created through combined will power and effort." Is that so? So that would mean that belief would be the income of power for those two gods. Or not. Depends on how this stupid world works.

"So, what Kami are you talking about?" Katsumi rose an eyebrow and I sighed. I think I know where this is going.

"I thought you knew about the real Kami."

"Was I supposed to have known?"

"Yes." Ok, this isn't where I thought that this would go. And I'm having trouble following along at this point.

"I don't, so explain." I was in a proper sitting position with Katsumi standing in front of me. If Issei was in control of the body right now, I'd feel sorry for him because the checker red miniskirt that Katsumi is wearing is nearly giving me a free show because of my angle. Well, I'd only feel sorry for Issei because he'd get his manhood cut off of him. I'm such an ass, aren't I?

"You know how people are just like, 'hey, how was the universe created?'" I nodded slightly and Katsumi took a deep breath, "A little girl came along and did stuff." I rose an eyebrow. Is that all? Is that how the all mighty universe came to be? A little girl coming along and doing stuff, "And she was stupidly bored." Gee, that helps me so freaking much!

"So you're telling me that this universe was created in the mind of a child?"

"Pretty much." Wow, thanks for breaking my view of life!

"So, err, can the universe just disappear at any given moment?"

"It can't." I guess that fixes part of my newfound insecurity.

"And why is Kami looking for me?"

"She's having a battle with her brother Yami."

Is she serious right now? This Kami girl is versing her brother in a boringly stupid game…and her brother is literally named Darkness…hang on, I think I'm mishearing all of this.

"…Where am I in all of this?"

"Oh, you? You're just the potential saviour of the universe."

"That sounds like something out of a shonen manga." It pretty much is a major plot point in shonen manga…well, it's similar to some of them. Take Naruto for example. Naruto is the Prophet Child or whatever and he's apparently going to save the Elemental Nations from complete destruction. Even if his opponents are thousands of times stronger than him. Yeah, I think I'm mishearing what Katsumi's saying.

"It does. Anyway, you know that Ryuuji guy that you made friends with?"

"What does he have to do with this?" I think I'm in for a complete mind fuck.

"He's the servant of Yami's right-hand man." Apparently not.

"You mean that God of Time and Space guy?"

"Who?" Okay, I can roll with this, I guess. I was completely duked by a kid and a bad guy. And I'll have to get a raincheck for how mind fucked I'm going to get.

"Err, the guy that got me in this place."

"You mean the God of Mischief?"

"…" I was completely duked. Oh, Kami, save me!

"I'll take that as a yes."

"…" I'm completely lost right now. Is my Intelligence stat too low? Or is it my Wisdom stat?

"So, Ryuuji, the God of Time, tried to poison your soul when he first met you and Issei. It turns out that Kami was protecting you with her power at that time, so you were unaffected. It turns out that Issei took the brunt of it, effectively weakening his soul and allowing you to take control of his body until he gets his strength back. Oh, you know how Asuka had fallen into that 'portal' with you?" I nodded. This is too much crap to take in at once. I never even wanted to become the saviour of this stupid universe in the first place!

"Hang on, let me repeat the stuff you just told me. I was duked by a God and my 'friend'. Issei is dying. I can control the body because of that." Katsumi nodded shallowly. So I was starting to finally get my bearings on this situation. Actually, this is defying all logic, especially mine, so I know nothing. It makes me feel afraid for some reason.

"In your basic terms, you got that correct. Back to what I was saying. When Ryuuji pushed you into that 'portal' with Asuka, he just put the two of you in some sort of comatose state." Seems pretty legit…so, none of this is real and this could just be a dream…great, totally not looking forward to the repercussions!

"So you're not real and Asuka didn't die?" I was definitely getting my hopes up here. Better brace for disappointment!

"I'm definitely real. I'm the one and only freaking servant of Kami, so I'm technically your master." I grimaced. I don't want to be sexually abused in any way! What? Katsumi looks like the type of person to do that stuff! Hang on…

"If I'm the saviour of the universe, doesn't that make me your master? I mean, sure, Kami created you or something to complete the dirty work but I have more importance here!" I only received a glare in return, so I guess I'm right.

"…Back to the topic at hand…Asuka was forced into your mindscape with you. Oh, right, I never told you that you were in your mindscape, did I? Anyway, Asuka can't die in here. She doesn't belong in here so she was ejected. Oh, Ryuuji and his master actually compromised with what they had at hand. They put all sorts of monsters inside of your mind in hopes of killing Asuka and effectively breaking you. It obviously didn't turn out the way they wanted it to."

I've completely lost all sense of what is what. I'm only a child! I can't be expected to remember all of this, right? Someone save me from this mind fucking torture!

"So, err, what happens now? I'm pretty sure that that explains everything."

"It doesn't." I deadpanned. I'm in for a long ride, aren't I?

"What else do you need to tell me? I kind of want to die and escape this coma."

"It's been one year and a half since you've been initiated into the coma. Asuka's already started highschool at Kuoh Academy, an all-girls school turned co-ed. She's a first year, just like you if you were attending high school right now. She's a pretty smart girl and she woke up six months ago. You know how Asuka confessed to you?" I think I'm about to get my heartbroken here, "She doesn't remember anything about that or what happened in the coma. And when she woke up, she was devastated at seeing you in the coma. Actually, Asuka woke up from the coma when that wolf jumped on top of her. Anyway, she came and visited you every day and the last kiss and confession was the last time she saw you. She hasn't visited you for three months."

I didn't even realise I was crying at this point. So…Asuka doesn't actually love me like that anymore, "Just…kill me and let it be over with…" I was depressed…and sad…actually, lonely and depressed.

"I can't actually do that. If I kill you, you'll die in real life along with Issei and his body."

"…How do I escape?"

"You have to find Issei's soul in here and wake him up."

"How am I supposed to find his soul!?" I was angry now. Geez, I'm on an emotional roller coaster right now. I thought that I was done being depressed when…no, I can't think about my past life right now. It will only distract me from what I need to do!

"That's simple. Natural instinct." I got up and turned around, walking towards the door of the empty building I was in. The invisible wall still wouldn't let me exit.

"Dammit! Let me go! I need to escape from here!"

"You'll get yourself killed with your current mindset. Oh, Kami also wanted me to tell you something," I turned around with a furious gaze set on Katsumi who was walking towards me, "You can raise your stats by training instead of waiting to level up. Also, Kami decided to give you a gift. A day you spend in here will only be a day in the real world."

And then I was ejected out of the building and into the giant spider's side. Ah crap, I'm seriously screwed!

* * *

It's been a day of constant searching and fighting. I was exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Hang on, how can I feel hungry and thirsty if I'm inside my mind? Ugh, I'm still confused with all that crap Katsumi shoved inside of my head.

Also, I got an achievement and my first quest! Yay! I totally love those things! Can you hear the sarcasm?

_Achievement Unlocked: Begin the story!_

_Quest: Find a way out of your coma!_

So, my life really is a video game, huh? Bloody fantastic, I say. Anyway, I was lying down on top of a building. I was staring at the grey sky with a frown on my face as my mind still sorted through all the information that was dropped onto me the previous day.

And Katsumi missed something major. Why the hell would that God of Mischief tell me to create a new universe? I have no idea why he'd want me to do that and how I'd do it from inside of my mind, but Katsumi should. So she should tell me. Unless she's working for him.

I need to give the guy a name so I don't have to keep on calling him the 'God of Mischief'. Hmm…what should I name him? Let's see…actually, I don't want to do that right now. It's boring.

I stood on my feet as I stretched my arms above my head with a yawn. Maybe I should sleep for a bit…yeah, but first I have to find somewhere safe to sleep. I keep on running into abominations that scare the living day lights out of me.

Well, at least they provided me with a way to train. I mean, who wouldn't love to beat the crap out of giant dog rats with fireballs, lightning bolts, water bullets and dirt covered arms? On second thought…dirt arms don't sound pleasant, so why the hell did I use them!?

And my stats for those have raised quite a bit over the last few days. They're nearly half completed now…well, the lightning is only about twenty-five because it makes my arms numb when I try to use them. I think I'm doing something wrong as I seem to manipulating the elements. I'll somehow find out later, I guess, and I should try to find out about magical runes too.

I turn around and walk down a set of stairs that allowed me to access the roof. I turned a corner down the bottom and tried to open a door. It actually opened, which was nice…I guess. There was a large bed in the middle of the stupidly empty room…well, it is my mind, so I'm not surprised.

I flopped onto it with a sigh of relief. It feels really nice…now I'm just gonna…

* * *

Go to sleep? Eh? What? Did something happen?

I quickly snapped my eyes open to see white. Pure white. Awesome. Something beeping attracted my attention so I attempted to move my head to look at it. Well, it was bad for me. It felt as if I couldn't move. Well, that should be expected because I was in a coma for something like a year and a half.

DAMMIT! WHY WAS IT SO EASY TO ESCAPE!? I need to stop yelling in my mind to no one. It's troublesome. Actually, I didn't find Issei's soul. Ah well, it'll be fine, I think.

Yeah…life really sucks again. After five minutes of struggling, I managed to sit up and walk over to the heart monitor near my bed, leaning against the wall for support as I attempted to stand. I pulled the heart monitor out of the wall like an intelligent person before I pulled all the cords and weird things off of me so I don't alert the doctors or nurses.

Well, at least something's gone right…are those clothes at the other end of the room? Oh, right, I'm obviously wearing a patient's gown. How could I forget something so simple? Last time I found myself at the hospital was when I…again, past life memories…I don't really need those, do I? So why do I keep remembering them?

Ugh, just shut up, me!

I stumbled over to the small cabinet thing that what I thougt my clothes were on, tripping over once and landing on my face. That hurt a lot. And after struggling some more for about ten minutes, I managed to get a pair of jeans and a red shirt on with a black hoodie covering it.

I'm all set, right? Anything that I've missed? No? Alright, let's leave without anyone noticing…! Geez, I hate hospitals soooo much.

Well, any hopes of escaping were denied as Ryuuji was leaning on a wall that was opposite my room, "Hey!" He rose a hand at me and pushed himself off the wall. Well, here goes everything and nothing…what does that even mean in the first place?

"Hey, Ryuuji, I'm kind of in a hurry at the moment." I walked down the corridor…well, at least I tried. It seemed as if I wasn't moving at all.

"Hmm? Where exactly do you plan on going? Master wants to see you?" This is problematic.

"Ah, so the God of Mischief wants to continue messing around, does he? Also, God of Time, could you please fix the time around me? I kind of want to escape." Ryuuji's eyes widened in surprise for the briefest of moments before he glared at me.

"So you know, huh? I'm afraid I can't let you live." Ryuuji snapped his fingers once and I felt myself freeze. This is not fair at all! I don't have time for this bullshit either!

"Eh? What do you mean? Is Yami seriously that much of an asshole?"

"How much do you know about him?" I felt something against my neck with Ryuuji's face very close to mine. _Very_ close to mine…think about it for a moment…

"About Yami? Next to nothing." I said as I found myself able to talk. I'm pretty sure the God of Time shouldn't be able to do stuff like this, right? I mean, it's exactly understandable if I find myself unable to move or people around me not moving because the time around them has frozen. But the stuff that Ryuuji is doing now is controlling space, right? Ugh, too confusing. I'll just stop now.

"Tell me everything that happened in that coma." Wow, very threatening. That killing intent is making me piss myself in fear! Can you hear the sarcasm again? If you don't, you're pretty stupid.

"Why should I? You betrayed me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see Asuka." Shit, saying that was a bad idea, wasn't it? Yup, it was. I can tell by the way that Ryuuji's face takes on a malicious look.

"Hmm, so you're going to see that worthless human?" And then Ryuuji…vanished. How did he disappear? Is he abusing his time controlling powers or is he cheating somehow? Anyway, I need to go see Asuka!

* * *

For some reason, there was no one in the hospital. Or the streets. This is very strange. I just tripped over my own feet…ow…my face…it hurts…why do I always hit my face when I trip over? It's annoying and it hurts a lot.

Anyway, I need to find Kuoh Academy! Oh, I must be very lucky. A flyer of the school fluttered in front of me…and it has a map on the back of it that tells me where the school is…this is too convenient…it's also very suspicious. Ah well, I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth! How did that saying even come into existence?

I followed the map to the best of my abilities, twisting and turning and going straight until I saw a giant Victorian looking mansion that was giant. There was also a smaller one in a small forest. Is the larger one the school?

I stepped through the gates and frowned as the distant sound of females talking filled my ears. It was the only thing I heard. Hell, I couldn't even hear myself breath or walk! This is too suspicious! I walked up a small path and into the large mansion. The lobby was quite nice. Marble pillars, staircases with velvet red carpet that turned into wooden floorboards.

The talking sound got more intense as I walked up the staircase. Left or right? Left because it is my lucky direction! Well, most people will choose right and I don't want to be cliché!

I walked down the hall, reading signs that occasionally hovered over doorways, "1-A…1-B…1-C...Library?" I think I found the place where Asuka might be. She was studying quite a bit before I was comatose.

I opened the wooden door and stepped inside. My jaw dropped at how huge the place was. Shelf after shelf littered the room and each one was filled with one specific subject, "Psychology, Japanese History, English, Physics, Neurology…" This room was filled with everything that you could ever want to study.

But Asuka wasn't here, and the sounds of people talking was quieter in here.

I left the room and continued down the corridor, the sounds of talking getting fainter and fainter. Wrong direction, I think. Well, I did hit a dead-end with nothing really noteworthy on the way apart from the library.

Wait, isn't Asuka in her first year of high school? Ugh, I'm confused once more! Thanks a lot, life! Keep on doing your job! Do I even need to say that that was filled with sarcasm anymore?

I walked to the first year classrooms and opened each door, finding nothing inside. Well, that was until I hit 1-A! The door slid open slowly as I braced myself. This will make or break me. Also, is it just me or do other people find it strange that some doors are traditional shoji doors and that others are western style wood ones?

There was nothing that I could immediately see in the classroom, so I sighed and prepared myself to shut it and continue on my search. And then I saw it. Someone sitting on a desk facing away from me, looking out of a large window that overlooked the track field.

They had shoulder length black hair and they were wearing what I think is the school's uniform. I couldn't fully see it because they were facing away from me, but it did look pretty interesting, even if I only saw the back of their white long-sleeved button-down shirt. They were humming quietly. It sounded very soothing and relaxing.

I stood in the doorway, staring at the figure as I felt my legs begin to give way…ah, that's right…I can' walk much because of my muscles.

I feel to the floor and lay still, sighing as the humming stopped, accompanied by footsteps, "Issei-nii?" Only one person would call me that.

"A-Asuka-chan…" It hurt to talk. I feel dehydrated and my voice was raspy.

"I-Issei-nii, what are you doing here? How did you get in here? It's lunchbreak!" Can anyone apart from her see me? Err, I feel like I'm a ghost or something.

"Well, I think I'm a ghost or something."

"Stop messing around." Asuka's matured quite a bit. She's quite beautiful for her age with large brown eyes, porcelain skin, her black hair that I think was dyed, great curves and body and breasts that were just the right size. Her voice was strangely attractive as well. Weird. No one can be this perfect, can they? Also, her bangs that framed her face down to her chin made her look absolutely adorable.

"You know how I was in a coma, right? I woke up like thirty minutes ago. I don't think anyone has noticed that I left, though. Err…I walked straight through the gates and to this classroom and who cares if it's lunchbreak?"

"I obviously care." I chuckled raptly in pain as she deadpanned at me. She also showed off the rest of her uniform which consisted of a black button-down corset, a black ribbon on her shirt collar, a magenta skirt with white accents and black tights. She looks pretty beautiful, you know? Ok, I'm just being creepy now so I'll stop.

"Does it look like I care?" I heard a voice behind me and frowned. It was Ryuuji.

"What do you want, Time God?" Asuka raised an eyebrow as she crouched down to my level to help me stand. As Asuka pulled me to my feet, Ryuuji began to slowly walk towards us.

"Hmm, nothing much. Maybe your death. Maybe your sister for my master. I don't really know." I growled at his statement. Right after I reunite with Asuka, he has to come along and tell me that he'll kidnap her for his master to do god knows what with her.

"You'll never have Asuka. Not after that little stunt you pulled." I was surprisingly calm in this situation.

_Random Encounter: Win in the fight against Ryuuji!_

_Random Encounter: Lose in the fight against Ryuuji!_

_Random Encounter: Offer Asuka for your safety!_

Sigh, why do I have to get this stuff now? And those remind me, I never really did wake up from my coma because I never got a notification telling me that I completed the quest. Ugh, so I'm guessing I have to beat Ryuuji to escape the coma, just like a true JRPG.

"So you're begging for a fight, even if you're in a weakened state. Very noble of you." I grimaced as he said that, only to growl slightly at the sarcasm in the last part. This bitch won't harm Asuka! I swear on it because that's what big brothers are supposed to do, right? They protect their younger siblings. I don't know because I've never had siblings until this life…again with the past life memories…do they hold some kind of importance!?

"Yes, I do. I'm going to beat you so hard that you'll wish you were dead." Ryuuji grinned maniacally when I finished my sentence. His eyes had a dangerous gleam to them. I think that I'm throwing myself in the deep end here.

"I-Issei-nii…are you really going to fight a god?" I grinned at Asuka from over my shoulder…last time I did that she died. That only made me grin bigger and brighter.

"Glad to see that you've been paying attention, Asuka-chan! Don't worry, though. He won't hurt you in anyway as long as I live!" Asuka nodded shallowly at me before she took a step back. The sound of females talking has disappeared now, so it was insanely silent.

"Are you ready?" I heard Ryuuji growl at me, so I nodded before jumping to the side. Shit, he wasn't aiming at me but Asuka! My hand ejected itself out of my hand as I jumped forward. I proved to be too fast for the black orb that Ryuuji had shot out of his right hand.

I hit it to the side and tackled Asuka to the ground as a giant fireball flew over us. I felt myself get burned slightly. This isn't good, I'm off to a bad start.

I drag Asuka out of the way as metal spikes began to erupt out of the ground, trying to impale the both of us as I eventually lifted Asuka into my arms for me to jump away.

I landed and dropped Asuka to the floor as I came up with a plan in the few seconds that it took for me to land from my jump. I rushed at Ryuuji with my sword poised at my side. I lunged at him and watched as he stepped to the side, pulling a fist back.

I barely managed to dodge the incoming fist that would've blown my head off as a large shockwave of wind flew overhead, shattering all windows across from Ryuuji and blowing the wall out in some places.

I turned to the side, sprung back and raised my left hand, the hand that wasn't holding the sword, as Ryuuji sent a roundhouse kick towards the side of my head. I used a small blast of wind to propel me backwards.

I watched as the bottom of a boot narrowly missed the tip of nose, only to widen my eyes in surprise as Ryuuji stopped to turn to face me, both fists pulled back. I braced myself in the split second that it took for me to find myself flying through a wall and onto the ground of the track field.

Ryuuji appeared above me with a smirk, "I'm only using ten percent of my power and you haven't even managed to get a single hit on me. You're a waste of my time, so I'll take little Asuka-chan over there and disappear." My chest felt like it had been ripped to shreds. It felt as if my ribcage had shattered and all the little pieces of rib had lodged themselves into vital organs.

Somehow, even if I felt like utter crap, I raised an arm and shot a tiny fireball towards Ryuuji. It froze in mid-air. Fantastic. Bloody fantastic. Nothing's ever going to go my way, is it? Ugh, this is just awesome.

"Well, Asuka and I should go now." With that, he walked away, using his stupid time powers to freeze me in place. He jumped from the ground level into the second floor classroom where I heard a scream.

No…no…NO!

* * *

**Many people were shied away by the confusion of the last two chapters. Most questions should be answered now, so there should be no problem. Well, I answered any that were major problems for now. If you have a question, PM me or leave a review stating it. Also, give me ideas for Merits or story plot points! I'm making this up as I go so plot holes may be a common thing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Eh, Back so Quickly?**

The world around me caught fire and reality seemed to gain cracks in it. I was very…angry, I guess. My vision began to go red, only for a giant red dragon to smash a piece of reality by flying through it. It then exploded the school in a fireball.

All my anger vanished and I was left on the floor with an eyebrow raised. Giant shards of mirror glass began to fall around me as I heard two beings duke it out right in front of me. One was the giant red dragon, the other a light blue shadow of sorts.

I saw Ryuuji smash into the ground a few meters away from myself, and he appeared to be unconscious, maybe dead. Asuka was nowhere to be seen, though. I set myself into a sitting position, only to scurry backwards as a giant shard of mirror glass exploded right in front of me, a smaller shard of glass flying past my face and cutting it as it was pretty close to me.

I'm done. I have no idea of what the hell is happening to my life. I'm so freaking done. How the hell are these two things even here in front of me? Beats me, so don't expect an answer.

I looked up and gawked as the sky was black, the last piece of 'reality' exploding on the 'ground'. Everything was black, and I didn't even notice it happen because I was focusing on the fight in front of me.

I really need to pay more attention to multiple important details.

The blue shadow was clearly winning the fight, having pinned the dragon to the ground with a…is that a choke hold? How do you even do that to dragons?

Then the dragon began to…speak, **"Break…the illusion!"**

What the hell is that thing talking about? The dragon took a deep breath and somehow managed to explode the arm off of the blue shadow with a mini fireball, even though it was holding the dragon in a choke hold…I'll never make sense of anything, will I?

The ground beneath me shattered and I was falling through a black void, a bright white light at the bottom, which is pretty cliché if you ask me.

And then my body tingled.

* * *

The light flittered through the trees and into my closed eyes as I relaxed, the wind gently tugging at my hair and clothes and the grass tickling my arms and legs…ah, it's nice to be able to relax every once in a while…

Wait, what!? I tried opening my eyes but found that I couldn't…am I back in the real world already? I need to know what day, month and year it is, right now…but I can't control Issei's body, for some reason, so I'll have to wait, and I'm not looking forward to it.

"Issei-nii, you can't nap like that when you're supposed to be studying!" Ah, that familiar voice! It's Asuka, right? I hope it is, I kind of miss her.

"You know, I deserve a break. You've forced me to study like crazy this past week." I really am back in the real world! But Issei sounds…different. More mature, calm and relaxed.

"I know that you only woke up from a two year coma a week ago and that you can barely move, but you need to study if you want to be able to go to school with me!" What does she mean? I hope it's not what I think it is…

"I don't want to go to that stupid Kuoh Academy. It's too fancy for me…besides, what's the point in going to school if I can barely walk twenty meters without having to take a break?" It turns out that what I saw in the coma about Asuka was real as Issei opened his eyes.

Asuka looked exactly the same as she did in the coma, except for the fact that she was wearing casual clothes that consisted of skinny jeans, a black and red hoodie, some black gloves and some simple boots.

"It'll be good muscle training!" Issei snorted as Asuka pulled him to a sitting position. We were in a park with people casually wondering around. No surprise there. It's the perfect place to relax as its quiet and there's not many people around. Also, there was a thin layer of snow covering the grass, meaning that it is winter.

"Yeah right, I won't even be able to write properly." Okay, Issei is starting to sound like a complete asshole! And what's with the one week time skip? I'm definitely missing something! Hang on, that dragon told me to 'break the illusion', right? Issei woke up a week ago. _I_ woke up in a hospital in my coma…I think I've figured out something important.

"That doesn't matter…I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out!" Issei frowned as Asuka sat down next to him with her legs crossed. She looks very cute and at peace. I wonder if she has a boyfriend yet…

Nonononono! I can't think like that! Asuka's all mine! No, wait, what!? Bad mind! She's my little sister for Kami's sake! I can't be like that with her! We're teenagers now…well, I am, but it doesn't matter! I just can't have feelings towards her like that!

Wait…no, I don't care! I love her and that's that! No more mind arguing, ok, brain?

"Isse-nii, are you okay? You look troubled." Issei shook his head slowly as he looked up at the branches above.

"Yeah, I'm fine…it's just, I missed two years of my life and I don't feel the…same…like a different person, you could say." Asuka nodded once before she grinned at Issei.

"I have an idea! Let's go do things to make up for your loss of youth!" Oh, crap, she didn't just say that, right? She sounds like those two spandex guys off of Naruto…it's a shame I don't know their names. If I did, I could call Asuka one of the two for what she said.

"Wait, I have a question, Asuka. Do you have a boyfriend?" Asuka was momentarily shocked before she smiled gently, nodding at the same time. I think I felt my heart break once more.

"His name's Satoshi Himura. He's in the same class as me." Issei sighed sadly before Asuka pulled him to his feet. I could see Issei's vision go blurry as he tried to hold in tears…wait, does he remember what happened…

"Dammit, I should've brought my crutches with me." Issei muttered as he staggered to the side, only to have Asuka steady him on his feet.

"How did you even get here? Actually, how did you even get to my classroom on the day you woke up?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know." Asuka and Issei began walking at a slow pace with Asuka holding Issei's arm between her small breasts…wait, what? Doesn't that count as cheating on this Satoshi kid?

"Hmm, Issei-nii, can I ask you a question?" Issei hummed in thought as snow began to fall gently.

"Sure, go ahead." Issei sighed out a cloud of mist and decided to pull the hood up on a dark purple jacket that he was wearing.

"Why was I the first one you saw when you woke up? The doctors and nurses didn't even know that you had left until they checked up on your room." Issei rolled his shoulders and leant on Asuka for support as his legs were getting tired, even though Asuka was nearly a head shorter.

"I…don't know. I felt as if I…needed to see if you were safe." Asuka nodded gently and grabbed Issei's hand with her gloved one as she released his arm from between her breasts. Asuka's phone beeped and she quickly pulled it out of her jeans, flipped it open with her other hand and smiled.

"It seems as if I'll have to leave you here, Issei-nii. I've got a date with Satoshi-kun." Issei nodded as Asuka left him at the park entrance, waving at her as she crossed the road with a certain bounce to her step. I didn't even notice that they had reached the park entrance.

What is Issei doing? Isn't he supposed to run after his sister, grab her wrist and confess his feelings for her in the middle of a crowd?

"_Kanzaki, I know that you're there."_

'_Hello there, little Issei.'_

"_Geez, you haven't called me that for ages." _Issei began walking through the park once more, the once clear sky now filled with grey clouds that covered up the sun and its light.

'_I suppose I haven't. Say, why aren't you running after Asuka?' _Issei stopped where he stood and looked up at the clouds with a small smile on his face.

"_I suppose I want her to be happy."_

* * *

Issei sat at a desk in his empty room, reading a textbook on math. He idly jotted down formulas and equations into an empty book. Everything was silent.

I liked said silence because it gave me time to think and check up on my stats, and when I did check up on my menu, to say that I was surprised was an understatement. My intelligence and wisdom were at one hundred each.

And I received a new menu that was titled 'Miscellaneous'. It was empty, so I could only guess what would be in there. Probably things not important to Issei's growth. I also unlocked a few things in the Study menu, such as 'Study Efficiency' and 'Study Capacity'. They both had around ten points in them out of one-hundred, and the menu says at the bottom that I can only 'train' to level them up. Not looking forward to it.

I completed the quest as well, meaning that this was real life, but I received nothing for completing the quest.

Issei slumped into the back of his chair and stared at his roof, his arms limp by his side. It was getting dark, and there were no lights on and Issei made no effort to do anything, "I wonder, when did I screw up my life?" He sighed before he swung his head upright.

He stood up and glanced at a digital clock on his desk. It was currently seven at night and Asuka isn't home yet, even though she ditched Issei around one in the afternoon. Actually, how long does the average date go for?

I heard the door open, followed by it closing and a quiet, "I'm home."

Issei left his room and carefully made his way down the stairs. Asuka looked exhausted for some reason, and I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Issei is dense and any dense character ignores everything regarding females.

"How was your date with Satoshi?" He asked as he stepped past her into the small kitchen, swinging the fridge open and pulling two cans of cola out.

"It was fun." Issei threw one of the cans at Asuka and smirked as she fumbled with the catch. Asuka sounded very tired. I wonder, what has she done that made her tired?

"Hmm, that's it? Nothing new? Why do you look so off?" So, Issei isn't as dense as I thought.

"No reason. Natural body process." Asuka attempted to leave the room but Issei surprisingly took action this time. Issei stepped in front of Asuka and, despite his weakness, pushed her into the wall and held her in place, having dropped his can of cola in the process.

"I'm serious. What the hell is wrong?" Issei nearly growled that out, but he managed to compose himself in time, only to receive a fiery glare from Asuka in response. Is Issei very angry? Because this is sudden and very violent.

"What is wrong with me doesn't concern you." Her tone was cold and dominant, but Issei was having none of it. Issei snarled as Asuka punched him in the gut, but Issei still stood strong.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. Wrong?" Issei's tone was more dominant than Asuka's, and Asuka's glare evolved into one of pure hatred.

"Why care for me now? You were gone in the year and a half when I needed you the most!" Issei's glare faulted for a moment and it settled into one of regret and sadness. Issei sighed sadly before he let Asuka go, turning around so she was facing his back, not letting her see the tears build up in his eyes. Issei doesn't even know what happened in that one year and a half! How does Asuka expect Issei to realise things that were impossible for him to know about!?

"Why _do_ I care now?" Issei stood with his back to Asuka for a couple of seconds, waiting for an answer. And then he left, back up the stairs and into his room where he slammed the door shut, collapsed on his bed and covered his eyes with one arm. He could clearly hear Asuka crying down stairs, and then it came to me.

The 'improvisation' that Ryuuji and his master did was not them trying to kill Asuka and myself, but for the relationship between us to break.

* * *

Issei slept in to noon, waking up and staring at the roof lazily. I felt nothing, he felt nothing. We were both broken souls. Issei rolled over so his face was buried in his pillows, "…Why…" He mumbled unintelligently into his pillows.

He lay there for a few minutes before he turned back around and sat up, twisting his legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor, "…Life sucks…"

'_Indeed, it does. But, as no one says, life must go on.'_

"Ah…Kanzaki…" Issei stood up and staggered towards the bathroom, taking a quick shower before he wandered back into his bedroom.

He put a pair of black shorts and a red shirt on before he walked down the stairs and into the living room. The cola can was still in the place that it was in last night, and Asuka had presumably gone to school.

I think that it's for the best if Issei and Asuka don't see each other for a while…well, it could be a good thing or a bad thing…ah, but I love Asuka! She's a textbook example of a loli! No, wait, what!? Don't tell me my old…addictions are coming back!

"Hey…Kanzaki…let me ask you something…" Issei had fallen face first into a black leather couch that was cold to the touch, and I knew that he was feeling the cold. But he thinks that the burning pain from the cold will make all of his problems and pain go away, when it won't, just like I use to think.

'_Fire.'_

"How…how do you cope? I mean, you're cooped inside of me all the time, so how do you ease any pain you have of not being able to do what you want?" That was a tough question that I fear I may not be able to answer, but I'll try my hardest.

'_I treat this world like a video game. You get to control the character, me in a way, but in the end they make their own decisions. Every monster they kill, every person they hurt…it's always their choice in the end.'_ That didn't really make sense, but it should do for now.

Issei sighed before he rolled over and stared at the roof. And then he cried silently. The tears slowly rolled down his face. The snow gently fell outside.

Christmas is in a week, isn't it? This is a holiday disaster.

* * *

Issei took up his old habits of being a pervert, but he was a closet pervert. He also resorted to playing video games and watching anime. Asuka avoided Issei, never looking at him or being in the same room as him.

Their parents never came home either, so something bad must have happened to them. Issei decided to confront Asuka on Christmas Eve as she was stepping out the door, "What happened to mom and dad?"

"You don't want to know." And then she was off, the door shutting behind her as Issei swung a fist at the closest wall.

When Christmas Morning arrived, Issei was all alone in the large house. Nothing happened and the snow gently fell. Strange. It always seems to snow on Christmas Day.

"What should I do, Kanzaki?" Issei muttered to himself. He was severely depressed and I fear that he would do something that he would regret forever.

'_Go take a walk. It'll clear your mind.' _So he put a light jacket and some jeans on and left the house empty handed.

I didn't expect Issei to wonder through the park where he had his last happy memory with Asuka. No one was around and everything was silent, the only thing happening was snow covering the trees and the ground.

Issei sat down on the edge of a frozen water fountain and closed his eyes. I don't know how long he stayed in that one position, but he was shaken out of it when someone sat down next to him.

Issei opened his eyes and glanced at the girl sitting beside him, the girl glancing back with a gentle smile, "What's wrong?" The girl asked. Her voice was gentle and it wasn't intrusive or pushy…it was calming.

"Why do you want to know? I'm just a stranger having an existential crisis." Issei sounded depressed and gloomy, so it was no surprise that it would be showing on his face, which was probably how the girl next to him figured out that he was depressed.

"Hmm…I'm Yuuma Amano, what's your name?" Issei stood up and prepared to walk away, but the pleading tone of Yuuma forced him to stop. Issei turned around and gazed at Yuuma without any emotion showing in his eyes.

Yuuma was very pretty, though. Long, silky black hair, fair skin, large purple eyes, heart-shaped face and a good body.

"Issei Hyoudou." Yuuma patted the spot to her right with her hand and gave Issei a serene smile.

"Won't you take a seat?" Issei sat back down and stared ahead of him, waiting for Yuuma to say something. "It's nice out here, isn't it?" Yuuma swung her legs slowly as she stared up at the grey sky that covered the city, blinking as the snow landed in her eye.

"It is." Yuuma pouted at Issei's short response, only to giggle as Issei sneezed loudly.

"You're going to get sick if we stay here like this! Why would you even wear light clothing in the middle of winter?" Yuuma pulled Issei to his feet and dragged him by the wrist through the park once more, only to stop under a tree.

"…" Neither said anything to each other as they stood in the one spot. Why did Yuuma stop here? It's confusing…

"You should at least say something!" Yuuma finally broke the silence as Issei began to shake from the cold. "You're freezing…here!" Yuuma took off a thick purple parka that she was wearing, only to hold it out to Issei.

But Yuuma began to shiver as well, "You should keep it." Issei finally said something! Yuuma shook her head as she put the hood over Issei's long spiky brown hair, only to shiver more violently as a cold gust of wind blew past. This scene was…sad but romantic for some reason…

"You…should…have it…" Issei sighed out a cloud of mist, putting the parka on over his jacket reluctantly…Issei and Yuuma have the same size clothing? Well, Yuuma's parka is a bit big on Issei, probably because Yuuma needed extra space for her boobs…

My thoughts were interrupted by Issei making an unexpected move.

Issei stepped forward and wrapped Yuuma up in his arms, Issei's right hand guiding Yuuma's head to the crook of his neck. Yuuma was visible blushing madly, but she happily accepted his warmth. Issei silently let out tears.

I didn't know why, but he did. Issei fell to his knees, letting his quiet sobs escape his mouth this time, "What's wrong?" Yuuma pulled her head back gently and stared at Issei's watering brown eyes. Issei finally cracked.

"My sister…she hates me! I never see my parents…my sister was the only thing I had! And now she hates me! What should I do!? I don't want to be alone! I don't want to be alone…again…" Issei was silenced by a pair of soft pink lips meeting his forehead. An unexpected move, one that doesn't seem right in this situation.

"You won't be alone." Those words hit Issei like a train, even though they came from a complete stranger that kissed him in the middle of a winter wonderland.

"A-Amano-san…what should I do?" Yuuma smiled gently once more and wrapped Issei in a motherly embrace. It was surprisingly warm.

"You should go to her." Yuuma let Issei go and watched silently as Issei stood up, a look of determination reaching his face.

"Thanks…Amano-san…" And then Issei was off, Yuuma's parka that he still wore never crossing his mind.

* * *

"Dammit! I don't know where Asuka is!" Issei tried his best to run. He only managed to trip over, so he walked as fast as he could. His legs were burning from overexertion and Issei wanted to just stop and sit down. But he couldn't.

He loved Asuka, and all he wanted was for her to love him back. This was strange. I'm pretty sure things like this don't happen to people, right?

"I'll go back home and get my phone." And Issei wondered home as the snow started to fall harder. Issei grit his teeth as his left leg started to give way. I only watched silently. This is something that Issei needs to do himself.

Issei limped the rest of the way home and slammed the front door shut behind him when he managed to get home. He made it halfway up the stairs before his legs gave way. I was surprised he even lasted that long, considering he can barely walk fifty meters now. He just walked a mile, a large portion of it being spent in pain.

And then we both heard a sound that forced Issei to his limits. It was Asuka. And she was screaming.

Issei crawled up the stairs and to Asuka's door, pulling himself to his feet before he fell back to the floor.

'_Come on, Issei! Just a little longer!'_

The door was pushed open and broken hearts shattered into a million pieces.

A black haired kid around Issei's age was pinning Asuka to the wall with one hand, the other one caressing one of her exposed breasts with his knee between her legs, "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Issei shouted as he leant on the door frame for support.

The black haired kid turned his head towards Issei, "Hm? Who're are you?"

"Me? Who the hell are you and what are you doing to Asuka!" The kid chuckled. Issei couldn't see Asuka's face as she was looking away from him, but he could hear her whimpering.

"I'm Satoshi, pleasure to meet you. I'm guessing that you're Asuka-chan's brother Issei?" Issei nodded cautiously. Something wasn't right here, "As to what I'm doing? I was just going to have some fun with Asuka-chan before I kill her."

Issei paled. I mentally flinched. Satoshi grinned maniacally. Asuka? Well…

"I-Issei-nii…just leave…I can handle this by myself!"

I don't know how to respond to that. But Issei does.

"Listen, Asuka…I'm sorry, okay? Now might not be the time, but forgive me for what I did!" Why is Issei the one apologising? Asuka's supposed to apologise.

"Just go! I don't need you here!" Issei growled. Satoshi licked his lips before a frown marred his face.

"You…you're the host of the Boosted Gear, aren't you? I can sense it!" Issei rose an eyebrow at Satoshi as Satoshi laughed maniacally, "I'm so lucky, aren't I!? I found myself a new toy as well as the Boosted Gear! Kokabiel-sama will surely reward me for killing you!"

Asuka whimpered again as Issei saw a glimpse of metal in Satoshi's right hand, "Let her go!" The shout resonated through the neighbourhood as Issei somehow jumped forward with his fist pulled back. I guess I need to take control now, huh?

I twisted my torso as a knife grazed my cheek, just below my eye, drawing first blood. I didn't expect a leg to come around and get me in the stomach, though, so I fell to the ground winded. Satoshi stood above me with the knife twirling around in his hand, "So, you haven't used the Boosted Gear before, have you? No matter, that will make it easier for me!"

I rolled to the side in pain as the knife came down towards my skull. My legs were burning really badly. I could barely breathe. Yeah, I'm screwed.

"Oh, what's this? You've got an Angel's blessing!" I rose an eyebrow as Satoshi stood above me like nothing has happened.

"What do you mean?"

"You've gotten an Angel's blessing." I was confused…but a blessing is a good thing, right? Maybe that's what allowed Issei's body to continue on.

I scurried backwards as a blue jagged spear landed between my legs, "The hell?" I shouted. It then exploded and disappeared harmlessly.

"Hmm, because you've gotten a blessing, I guess I shouldn't go easy on you!" I'm seriously confused here! But I have no time for mental rambling! I stood up on shaky legs and took a step forward, only to fall back to the ground as Satoshi's fist connected with my cheek.

"Dammit…!" Satoshi chuckled as I struggled to stand back up. I could barely move. I was exhausted. I feel like I'm going to die from exhaustion.

"You're pathetic!" I grimaced as Satoshi started kicking me in the side. It hurts…the pain, "How do you expect to fight me if you can't even walk properly!?" The kicking stopped. I only heard footsteps that sounded as if they were miles away.

"No! Get away from me!" Asuka…?

Memories flooded my mind and I urged my body to move. It just wouldn't move.

"What's wrong, Asuka-chan? I thought you loved me?" My eyes slowly shut as my body started to fail...so I'm gonna die again, huh? Ah, this time I died as a weakling who was unable to save his sister…

"_Onii-chan!"_

"_Yeah, what's up, Asuka-chan?"_

"_I love you, so never leave me, okay?"_

"_I won't!"_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise."_

My eyes snapped open. My left arm began to tingle. White light filled the room.

I was angry. I was angry at Satoshi. Who the hell does he think he is!? He's the reason why Asuka hates me, isn't he? Asuka only spends time with him! It's not fair! It's. Not. Fair!

When the light cleared, I was on my feet with a look of pure rage etched on my face. A draconic red gauntlet covered my forearm, a green jewel on the back of where my hand should be and red claws replacing my fingers.

**[BOOST!]**

I felt energy flood me as the deep voice echoed around the room.

"Interesting…so, you've awakened it, huh? The Boosted Gear…impressive…" I jumped to the side as one of those blue spears came flying at me again. I stopped and watched in silent awe as four black crow wings exploded out of Satoshi's clothes, sending black feathers everywhere.

"What the hell are you?" I shouted as Satoshi picked Asuka up by the hair with one hand. I watched with narrow eyes as the wall behind Satoshi exploded, exposing the room to the now violent winds of winter.

"Me? I'm just a Fallen Angel." And then he flew out the window. I jumped down to ground level and attempted to follow Satoshi, but I lost sight of him as a snow storm picked up all of a sudden. I cursed and punched the ground.

"I'LL KILL YOU, SATOSHI! EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

* * *

**Sorry for delay, been busy.**

**Soo, that was a bit too dramatic, wasn't it? And the ending part wasn't very good, was it? Ah well, what can I do? Oh, canon starts next chapter! **

**Should Issei become a Devil or should he stay human? If he does become a Devil, he won't follow any orders!**


	7. URGENT NOTICE! PLEASE READ!

**Ok, I'm finally back after what…three or so months? Anyway, I'd like to apologise for my absence and what I'm about to do.**

**I'm officially ending this story.**

**Ah! But don't worry! I'm redoing this.**

**I'm not very happy with how it ended up. Plot holes, not very well made system et cetera.**

**I'd like to let all of you know before I start anew with this story because I'm loving the idea (even though it suddenly became popular…maybe from me? I don't know. Butterfly effect, anyone?).**

**The new story will be called "Game of the Gods", so look out for it, if you're interested.**

**Oh, I might be using the system from The Gamer manhwa, but I'm not sure. I'll figure something out.**

**And one last question…**

**Kanzaki, Asuka and Issei will still be the main focus points of the story, but how would it be if Kanzaki was a whole other person? Like, his own body et cetera…maybe Issei's twin, another race? I don't know. I'd just like a few opinions on that.**

**See you when "Game of the Gods" comes out!**


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